Arsenal line up AC Milan striker Andre Silva to replace Alexis Sanchez

As Saturday’s shocking loss to Watford showed, Arsenal are in desperate need of new blood if they’re to avoid becoming mid-table nonentities, and according to the Daily Mirror they may be lining up an audacious bid for one of Europe’s hottest young strikers.

The paper claims that the Gunners are after AC Milan marksman Andre Silva and Arsene Wenger regards the 21-year-old as the ideal replacement for Alexis Sanchez.

The Chilean is almost sure to leave the Emirates in the new year and while several names have been bandied about as to who might succeed Sanchez, the Mirror says Silva is in the frame.

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Apparently the Portuguese striker was a transfer target for the Gunners during the summer but AC Milan swooped first, bagging the youngster for a record signing of £33million.

But AC Milan are reportedly experiencing some financial turbulence with sponsorship deals and consequently the Mirror says they may be “forced to cash in on their prized assets”.

That means selling some players and with Silva failing to fire this season it’s believed he could be shipped on in January if Arsenal make a serious offer for the Portugal international.

Talking of forwards, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling has rubbished suggestions he nearly joined Arsenal in the summer as part of an exchange deal with Alexis Sanchez.

It was rumoured that Sky Blues boss Pep Guardiola was considering the swap, but that wasn’t the case, Sterling told The Guardian.

“I didn’t need to speak to him because I already spoke to him in the summer,” said Sterling, when asked about the story. “I just woke up one day with England, didn’t believe a word of it. I didn’t need to worry about it – didn’t think about it one minute.”

Finally, Metro says that Arsenal and Chelsea are both sniffing around Abel Ruiz, the 17-year-old “wonderkid” who has come through the ranks at Barcelona.

The young striker has caught the eye recently for Barcelona B but he is still some way off breaking into the senior squad, and according to Metro his £3m buy-out clause has put the two Premier League clubs “on alert”.