Reports coming out of Spain appear to have given hope to Arsenal fans that their club could still sign a striker this month.

With Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah out of contract in June, a striker signing this month made a lot of sense, especially given Lacazette’s poor goalscoring form of late.

However, with deadline day now upon us, a deal for a centre-forward did seem unlikely.

But, according to Spanish outlet AS, a transfer could lead to Arsenal signing a striker this month.

The Spanish newspaper reports that the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Barcelona would facilitate Arsenal signing Espanyol striker, Raul de Tomas, with Aubameyang causing a domino effect.

On Sunday, 101 covered a report that claimed Barcelona were nearing an agreement with Arsenal for Aubameyang, but the main issue to resolve was who pays what of the African’s fairly large salary.

And though no deal has been done yet, AS report that sources close to the Aubameyang operation consulted by AS are very optimistic at the moment and believe that the transfer to Barcelona will take place.

Raul de Tomas impressing with Espanyol

So, could Arsenal end up signing Raul de Tomas, who has a reported €70m release clause and would he be enough to fire Arsenal into the Champions League next season?

De Tomas would join current club Espanyol in 2020 from Benfica and is contracted to them until 2026.

He has so far featured on 76 occasions for Espanyol, netting a very respectable 40 goals in the process.

De Tomas’ impressive form over the last year or so has also seen him, despite being 27, earn his senior Spain debut back in November of 2021.

Premier League golden boot race: Latest odds and tips 2021/22

Premier League relegation race: Latest odds and tips 2021/22