Llorente and Lopez top Arsenal hitlist as Wenger concedes he must replace Van Persie in January

Arsene Wenger will open his chequebook to land Robin van Persie’s long-term successor when the transfer window re-opens.
The Arsenal manager has instructed his global network of scouts to start identifying realistic forward targets the club can go for in January. 
And Wenger, together with his backroom team, will hold a series of technical meetings where those players identified will be discussed and formalised into a shortlist.
Wenger has in the region of £35million to splash at the turn of the year and has made a new world-class centre-forward his top priority.

Head boy: Wenger is interested in signing Spain forward Llorente (left)

The Frenchman accepts he has not sufficiently replaced Van Persie after the Holland international moved to Premier League rivals Manchester United.

Despite claims to the contrary, Olivier Giroud’s capture was always viewed as an option to supplement the Arsenal attack rather than spearhead it.
It was hoped that Giroud would hit the ground running after his arrival, but the France international has scored just once in the Premier League.

Wenger has also tried Gervinho in the central striker role - and while the Ivory coast forward has impressed at times - Wenger is not convinced he is the answer.

Likewise, Lukas Podolski can be deployed as a conventional No 9 but Wenger feels the Germany international is best suited to the left-sided role he currently occupies. 

Option: Arsenal could also turn to Lopez

 

Early contenders are Atletico Madrid striker Adrian Lopez, a player who has already been scouted intensively by Arsenal spies.

Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente is also highly-rated by Wenger. The Spain international is out of contract at the end of the season meaning he could be available at a cut-price fee.

Another option is Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic who has been on Arsenal’s radar for over 12 months, while Palermo’s Abel Hernandez has also been watched.

As Sportsmail revealed on Tuesday, the Gunners are also in the running to sign Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha - though the 19-year-old is not viewed as a centre-forward.

Arsenal are also in the market for a goalkeeper to challenge No 1 Wojciech Szczesny in January. Wenger is keen on Swansea’s Michel Vorm.

Attracting interest: Michel Vorm

The Gunners hope their January spending will be supplemented by a mini-clearout. Arsenal will continue with their ongoing mission to sell the club’s unwanted stars.
The likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela, Manuel Almunia, Denilson and Park Chu-young all left on a temporary or permanent basis during the summer.

But Arsenal are still keen to offload Marouane Chamakh, Sebastien Squillaci, Johan Djourou and Andrey Arshavin.

Meanwhile, starlet Chuba Akpom, who celebrated his 17th birthday this week, has signed professional terms at the Emirates

Chuba has represented England at a number of development levels and scored three goals in four games for the Under 17s at the 2011 Nordic Tournament.