Arsenal cool Alexander Isak interest after Newcastle 'secret meetings'

Arsenal may be forced to avert their gaze away from Alexander Isak as Newcastle United's show of strength continues.

The Gunners have been for 18 months with other potential suitors such as Liverpool and Barcelona joining the fray this year thanks to his fantastic form.

But, it appears with no club willing to test Newcastle's resolve as the Saudi-backed Magpies hold all the cards for the deal.

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The 25-year-old has 20 Premier League goals this campaign, with eight league matches still to play, and has been widely heralded as the best central striker in England at the moment.

The country's one and two best clubs this season covet Isak but appear to be exploring other options due to the might the Tyneside club has shown both on the field and financially.

With the club's first piece of silverware in more than 70 years, its hierarchy has grown an appetite for more and requires its best players to stay to do so.

According to The i Paper, private meetings with some of his players were held earlier in the season with concern that reports of moves away from Newcastle may have caught some eyes.

In these meetings, Eddie Howe made it clear he expects loyalty from his side, telling players they must respect the badge and the club behind it.

This interest, at least for Isak, seems to be cooling off as both Arsenal and Liverpool sprout links with other familiar names across Europe -Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres has recently become a prominent figure in Arsenal headlines.

Elsewhere, the ever-present absorption in acquiring the services of Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig remains despite no attempt to bring him to the Emirates in January. Mikel Arteta could also rely on the services of newly-appointed sporting director Andrea Berta to sign Wolves' Matheus Cunha, who has a £62.5m release clause and was signed by the Italian at Atletico Madrid.

Previously, the eyewatering figure of £150million was banded about as an assumed conversation-starting point for negotiations between any club and Newcastle for Isak, but even that monumental figure seems low-end nowadays.

Newcastle chief executive Darren Eales has said the club would be “crazy” to consider bids for Isak, or any of their other top talents.

Not to mention Isak’s contractual status which has three years left, with talks set to reopen in the summer, and the possibility of bringing Champions League football back to St James' Park next season.

Every man and his dog knows Mikel Arteta will be in the market for a striker this upcoming window, but its starting to look like that striker is unlikely to be Alexander Isak.