Al-Hilal made a check on RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko on Monday, but were told the Arsenal target is not keen on joining ahead of the Club World Cup, according to journalist and transfer insider Ben Jacobs.
The Gunners remain in contact with the Bundesliga club but have yet to lodge a bid.
Al-Hilal were hoping to strike a deal for the Slovenian striker before the 7pm transfer deadline today in time for their Club World Cup campaign, but they need to look elsewhere in a huge boost for Arsenal.
However, the North London club may still need to move quickly for the 21-year-old as other European suitors could sense an opportunity to swoop given there is no bid from them on the table.
Arsenal want Sesko ahead of Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres – who is also on the radar of Al-Hilal after Victor Osimhen turned them down – but it appears they have balked at his £75 million valuation.
The ball is in their court at the moment and they need to go in with an opening bid as the Leipzig star wants to join them ahead of the Middle East moneybags.
Getting the best players in the transfer market costs plenty of money, and Arsenal cannot afford to continue dilly-dallying if they really want Sesko.
He has proven his quality in the German top-flight and his huge potential points to the possibility of him becoming a top Premier League striker, and they cannot afford to miss out on him after he rejected Al-Hilal.
Their lack of a quality number 9 has proven disadvantageous in recent Premier League and Champions League campaigns, and they cannot afford to go through another summer transfer window without signing one.
The fans are hoping the Gunners can finally get it right this time, but no signing is expected today and the plan will be to make the necessary recruitment when the transfer window reopens from June 16 until September 1.
