Arsenal Transfer News: Latest on Romelu Lukaku and Islam Slimani Rumours

Arsenal's hopes of signing Romelu Lukaku look to have taken a hit after it was reported Everton are set to offer their striker a new contract.

TuttoMercatoWeb recently revealed the Gunners have entered the race for the 23-year-old, but Matt Law of the Telegraph has reported a desire from Everton's new owner, Farhad Moshiri, to keep Lukaku at Goodison Park.

According to Law, "Moshiri is willing to hand Lukaku a contract worth over £100,000-a-week to stay and may price the striker out of a move even if he refuses to sign a new deal."

The Belgian notched 25 goals and seven assists in all competitions last season and has netted twice thus far at UEFA Euro 2016.

After once again seeing the likes of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott fail to fire them to the Premier League title—or even to a sustained challenge for the trophy—Arsenal are in serious need of a top-level striker who can add the killer instinct their current options lack.

As noted by sports lawyer and writer Jake Cohen, Lukaku has established himself as a prolific goalscorer in the English top flight:

Indeed, his combination of power and dribbling ability is a potent one, and, at such a young age, there is still time to hone his craft further still.

However, he's not the complete package just yet. His failure to score in his final 10 games for Everton last season will be a concern, and he showed in Belgium's defeat to Italy at the Euros that he still has areas of his game in need of work, per Bleacher Report UK's Sam Tighe:

His first touch can often let him down, and on occasion, he can turn in entirely anonymous performances.

Nevertheless, he's still a more prolific option than any striker at the Emirates Stadium.

With these latest reports, however, it could take a phenomenal sum to land him.

An alternative could be Sporting Lisbon's Islam Slimani, and the Gunners are "preparing a £23 million" offer for him after missing out on Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy, according to the Daily Star's Paul Brown.

The striker bagged 31 goals in all competitions last season, with 27 of them coming in 33 league games. Here you can see each and every one:

Portuguese football expert Jan Hagen believes Slimani to be a fine player but perhaps not an upgrade on those Arsenal already have:

While £23 million is more than affordable for the Gunners, it's still a significant investment. And if he wouldn't enhance Arsenal's attack, it may not be worth it.

At this stage of the summer, Arsenal should continue to focus on forwards they're sure can improve their goalscoring capability.