Arsene Wenger has been given the green light to go shopping in January to keep alive Arsenal's Champions League qualification hopes.
The Frenchman considers qualifying for the Champions League his main priority but the Gunners are in danger of missing out on a top-four as they languish in seventh position with just four wins in 11 matches.
Having a proud record of not missing Europe's elite competition for the last 15 years, the Gunners hierarchy have virtually given him an ultimatum to beef up their squad particularly in attacking positions.
After having identified three key areas: a keeper, a wide attacking player and a central striker, Wenger has made Manchester City's 'super sub' Edin Dzeko his top target, the Daily Mail (http://bit.ly/SVlHhv) reported in an exclusive.
The Bosnian striker scored a late winning goal as the defending Premier League champions beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Sunday.
But he has grown frustrated at his lack of first-team action at the Etihad Stadium and Wenger wants to exploit the uncertainty.
Dzeko has now scored 11 league goals coming off the bench.
It was reported earlier that the Gunners boss is planning a shock £30 million swoop for Napoli striker Edinson Cavani who scored all four goals as his side came from behind to beat Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 4-2 in the Europa League in Italy on Thursday.
Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente and Atletico Madrid striker Adrian Lopez are also high on the Frenchman’s hitlist.
Arsenal will also make a £9 million offer for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha while Swansea’s Michel Vorm remains a strong contender in the club’s search for a keeper, the report added.
Zaha, capped five times at under-21 level, was handed a shock England call-up on Sunday, after Wayne Rooney and four other players pulled out of the squad for the friendly game in Sweden.
Palace chairman Steve Parish rates the England Under 21 star at £20m — but an offer of around £15m could be enough to prise the 20-year-old away, it said.
Wenger is looking for a long-term replacement for goal stopper Wojciech Szczesny with his stand-in Vito Mannone partly responsible for Fulham’s first two goals in the 3-3 draw on Saturday.