Bournemouth have ruled out a transfer move for rumoured Arsenal target Eli Junior Kroupi this January.

Arsenal scoured the market for attacking reinforcements in the summer transfer window, with Mikel Arteta keen to add firepower to his title-winning frontline.

Christos Tzolis was signed for a fee of £34million from Club Brugge to help fill the void left by the departure of both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli – and the Greece international has gone on to enjoy an encouraging start to life in north London.

However, it was clear the Premier League champions had ideally intended to bring in another proven talent in this area of the pitch after the club were gazumped by Chelsea in the race for Morgan Rogers.

There was genuine interest in Vinicius Junior and the Gunners were reportedly hopeful of closing a deal for the Real Madrid superstar right up until the start of August.

But Vinicius would go on to pen a new long-term contract at the Bernabeu, ultimately leaving Arsenal disappointed in their efforts to provide support and competition for the likes of Noni Madueke, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Tzolis.

According to talkSPORT, Arsenal are ready to reenter the transfer market to land a top-class attacker this winter and have a number of high-profile names on their shortlist of possible solutions.

It’s claimed Endrick, Vinicius’ team-mate at both club and international level, is now firmly on Arsenal’s radar after failing to win over Jose Mourinho at Madrid.

The 21-year-old Brazil international shares the same agency firm as Vinicius, with whom Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has built a healthy relationship following their dealings in the summer.

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The report states that Arteta has identified Bournemouth sensation Kroupi as his ‘top choice’ for the upcoming window, with the Frenchman earning rave reviews for his performances on the south coast.

Kroupi has racked up 13 goals and one assist in 39 appearances for Bournemouth and is widely regarded to be among the most exciting young talents in Premier League football.

Arsenal will likely fall short should their step up their pursuit of Kroupi this January, though, as the Cherries are said to have ‘made it clear’ that the 20-year-old is not for sale.

The France Under-21 international underwent surgery for a foot injury back in July and made his return to first-team action as a late substitute in Bournemouth’s stunning 3-0 victory at Manchester United last month.

Marco Rose is still yet to start Kroupi this season but the former Lorient man has also featured as a substitute in Bournemouth’s recent wins over Aston Villa, Leeds and Ipswich.

The versatile forward has three-and-a-half years remaining on his current contract at the Vitality Stadium.

Last season, Kroupi scored the goal against Manchester City that ultimately sealed Arsenal’s status as champions after a painful 22-year wait for the title.

Asked if he’d been congratulated by any thankful Arsenal players at the time, he told Stadium Astro: ‘Yes I have received many messages but I tell myself that I didn’t do this for Arsenal.

‘I do this for Bournemouth. I can say I scored against Arsenal, I scored against City.

‘It doesn’t change anything, I just wanted to help my team.’

When asked about his goals and ambitions for the future, Kroupi replied: ‘Perform with my team and perform also in Europe also because it is very beautiful to be in Europe but you have to perform to play there.’