Opinion: Edu would have inside track on 30-year-old Arsenal striker target amid Jesus injury

HITC – LONDON, Arsenal have shown an interest in Mehdi Taremi and he may be a player to look at again in light of Gabriel Jesus suffering a knee injury.

The Gunners went into the World Cup break with one big hope.

Sure, everyone connected to Arsenal would have wanted to see Gunners players thrive in Qatar, but the big hope was that everybody would return to North London unscathed.

Sadly, that isn’t going to happen as striker Gabriel Jesus has picked up a knee injury with Brazil and now faces months on the sidelines.

That’s an enormous blow for Mikel Arteta and co, and one that may lead Edu to explore the transfer market in January for another striking option.

Arsenal have shown an interest in Mehdi Taremi

That brings us back to January 2022, when Edu was offered the chance to sign Porto striker Mehdi Taremi.

Reports from CBS Sports suggested that Taremi was offered up to Arsenal as they chased a new striker but Edu preferred to wait and sign Jesus over the summer.

Now Jesus is injury, the pressure will be on Eddie Nketiah but adding an experienced striker like Taremi may not be the worst idea.

The 30-year-old scored twice against England at the World Cup and was a nuisance to Wales and the USA in Iran’s following games.

Look at Taremi’s record for Porto this season; in 19 games, he has racked up 13 goals and eight assists.

Taremi has even played in from the left flank, giving some versatility to Arsenal if they need it once Jesus returns.

Taremi appears to still be on Edu’s radar; A Bola reported in October that Arsenal and Chelsea are both interested in signing him.

An interesting connection here is that Edu worked as part of Carlos Queiroz’s Iran coaching staff at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as utilised Corinthians’ facilities.

Taremi wasn’t in that squad but Edu will surely still have a direct line to Queiroz to ask him about and assess Taremi’s suitability for a January move to England.

Based on the World Cup and his Porto displays, it’s hard to argue that Taremi doesn’t deserve a Premier League chance, whether it’s Arsenal or elsewhere.

If Arsenal could pull off a loan with option to buy for Taremi, that could be ideal; bringing in a player Edu appears to like without committing to a long-term deal for a player in his 30’s.

Whether Porto would be keen is another matter, but it’s worth exploring for Arsenal if they chase a short-term solution.