Arsenal Transfer News: Simone Zaza Pursuit Expected in Latest Gunners Rumours

Arsenal are reportedly set to continue their pursuit of Juventus striker Simone Zaza in January.

According to the Guardian's Michael Butler, Sky Italia is reporting that the Gunners "are considering a second January bid" for the Italian after seeing a late move for him turned down on deadline day, but they will require £22 million.

Butler also notes the possibility of a loan move should the Gunners be willing to pay the entirety of the 24-year-old's wages and a £1.4 million loan fee.

Given that Juventus only re-signed the forward in July for just over £12 million, a move this summer was never likely to happen. However, Zaza is yet to feature for the Old Lady this season, and should his run of games as an unused substitute continue well into the campaign, both club and player may be willing to accept a switch in January.

The Italian international scored 12 goals for Sassuolo in all competitions last season and assisted a further three. Here are some of the player's highlights from the campaign:

BeIN Sports' Matteo Bonetti is a fan of the youngster and also believes Zaza will be willing to move should he feel his place with Italy's national team at the 2016 European Championship is under threat due to a lack of game time:

Not that Arsenal fans will need reminding, but the club became the only one in Europe's top five leagues not to sign an outfield player this summer, with a striker being arguably the most necessary addition to the squad. Equally, they won't need reminding that the Gunners have scored just three goals so far this season, two of which were own goals.

At the moment Zaza isn't the top-class, prolific scorer to fire Arsenal to the title, but a loan spell for the latter half of the season could be a shrewd bit of business.

The Italian is only likely to move if he's struggling for minutes at Juve, and if that should be the case, he would undoubtedly arrive in north London hungry to prove himself ahead of Euro 2016, meaning he would be even more determined to make a positive impact on the team.

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Taller (he's 6'1") and stronger than Theo Walcott and much quicker and more mobile than Olivier Giroud, Zaza would make a "good option in between the two extremes," according to Squawka's Rory Briggs.

£22 million is far too high a price for the centre-forward, particularly as he hasn't even played since Juventus bought him for far less. Further, if he is able to justify such a fee in the coming months, then he won't be allowed or willing to leave in January anyway.

However, if Zaza remains a bit-part player until then, he could be a useful option for Arsenal to have on loan.