Arsenal Transfer News: Gonzalo Higuain Lifeline Amid Henrikh Mkhitaryan Rumours

Arsenal have received a boost in their pursuit of Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain after it emerged the Serie A giants may be willing to sell their striker—if they can get their hands on Everton's Romelu Lukaku. Plus, the Gunners are allegedly interested in a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund ace Henrikh Mkhitaryan. 

According to a report from Italian outlet TransferMarketWeb, Lukaku has been eyed as the ideal replacement for Higuain should he leave the Naples club (h/t Daily Star's Jamie Anderson).

Player	Goals	Appearances	Goal/Game Ratio
Gonzalo Higuain	29	30	0.97
Olivier Giroud	12	30	0.4
Alexis Sanchez	7	22	0.32
Mesut Ozil	5	28	0.18
Aaron Ramsey	5	25	0.20

Higuain's Napoli exit is far from confirmed, however, considering any club looking to recruit his talents would most likely have to trigger his €94 million (£73 million) release clause in order to do so.

The Argentina international scored twice in Napoli's 3-1 win over Genoa on Sunday and took his tally to 31 goals this season, yielding praise from Roma writer Julian De Martinis:

"

We need to take a second to give some props to Higuain. He has over DOUBLE the amount of goals of the second highest scorer in Italy. DOUBLE

— Julian De Martinis (@JulianDM11) March 20, 2016"

Arsenal may be eager to upgrade their attack after seeing incumbent frontman Olivier Giroud fall under scrutiny at the start of this season, with Theo Walcott even taking his place as the leading man up front.

Higuain has bagged five goals in his last four Serie A outings and has failed to score in just nine of his 30 league appearances, but BT Sport's Italian football expert James Horncastle has said the forward will leave the club:

Football Insider's Wayne Veysey recently reported Arsenal are in the market for a 30-goals-per-season striker such as Higuain, who has thrived upon his first-team responsibilities since leaving Real Madrid for Italy in 2013.

The release clause attached to Higuain's name may seem hefty for a player who will turn 29 at the end of this year, but Arsenal's desire to sign a scorer of his calibre could yet force their hand in what would be a club-record deal.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Meanwhile, midfield reinforcements could arrive in the form of Dortmund dynamo Mkhitaryan after Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo reported Arsene Wenger's side are keeping tabs on the Armenia international (h/t Sport Witness).

The playmaker recently spoke to Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport and was quizzed on his chances of moving to Juventus, but instead referred back to the Premier League as a possible option (h/t Joe Short of the Daily Express):

"

In a splendid season for Borussia I want to give my best for this club. I am happy here, but in the career of a football player everything can change so quickly.

Juve? In this life anything is possible, you never know. This is why I do not say anything on Juve or other teams. We’ll see what happens in the summer. 

I have no preference between Liga, Premier League and Serie A. They are all top leagues. The important thing is to choose a club where you can give your best.

"

Mkhitaryan has become a star of Signal Iduna Park since arriving in Germany from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013, and he's collected a terrific total of 20 goals and 24 assists in just 43 appearances for Dortmund this season.

Arsenal may struggle to fit the maestro in alongside Mesut Ozil as long as he's pulling the strings at the Emirates Stadium, but Mkhitaryan's talents could be too good to pass up on in the instance he becomes available.