By Matt Fortune

PUBLISHED: 19:20 EST, 16 December 2012 | UPDATED: 19:21 EST, 16 December 2012

Demba Ba has opened the door to a move to Arsenal by admitting they are a club that 'makes you dream'.

The Newcastle striker is enjoying a stellar season at St James' Park, bagging 11 goals in the Premier League.

Ba has yet to be persuaded to sign a new deal which will bury the 7.5million release clause contained in his initial contract from summer 2011.

Eye on the ball: Demba Ba is enjoying an excellent season in front of goal, bagging 11 goals in the Premier League...

Eye on the ball: Demba Ba is enjoying an excellent season in front of goal, bagging 11 goals in the Premier League...

... but Newcastle are struggling to reproduce the form they showed last season

... but Newcastle are struggling to reproduce the form they showed last season

With that stalemate hanging in the air, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool are among those hovering, though Newcastle themselves remain hopeful of keeping their star man.

However, the Senegal international's words on Sunday evening will worry those in the corridors of power at St James'.

While claiming that he had no knowledge of concrete interest from Arsenal, Ba suggested he could be the man to strengthen Arsene Wenger's leading line.

He told Canal+: 'I have nothing to say about those speculations [with Arsenal]. Nothing has happened.

'The media know Arsenal need another striker and they know about my release clause. They need to make their own mind up about it.

'Arsenal are one of those teams who makes you dream.'

Help: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is coming under increased pressure

Help: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is coming under increased pressure

The Gunners are in the market for a striker having endured a difficult season in front of goal as they adapt to life after Robin van Persie, who joined Manchester United in the summer.

Olivier Giroud, a 12m capture from Montpellier, has impressed in flashes but is still coming to terms with life in the Premier League, while Gervinho has become the butt of many jokes among Arsenal fans. Marouane Chamakh has continued to disappoint.

Wenger has been tracking a number of options, including 15m-rated Spain striker Adrian Lopez and Schalke's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has scored twice against the Gunners in the Champions League this season. 


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Sign him now or hold your peace forever.

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Huntelaar is better

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come and get him let andy carrol he is driven by money and is stiffling the team , his wage demands are over the top hence why nobody has yet bid for him , no doubt liverpool will also be linked silly season again

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Nice offer but Huntelaar would be a better buy. No trip to AFCON in January and no knee problem.

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Bring him plz.

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Ba coming to Arsenal would be a start, but what about players in other key areas? We keep being linked to forwards yet we don't strengthen elsewhere. Think we're a couple of defenders and a defensive midfielder short. But likelihood is, we'll go for someone who's cheap and/or inexperienced in the Premier League.

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Good player but has got too big for his boots. He's demanding 80K/wk when our wage cap is 60 (though Colocinni is on 70K as a remnant of the old system). He's been offered the maximum available along with performance incentives but his demands won't budge. Although everyone knows we work best in a 4-3-3 with him playing on the left, as we did at the end of last season, he refuses to do that now. Thus, we use an antiquated 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 with Cisse wide, which isn't what Cisse is good at at all. While it is true he's on fire, we as a team are not and part of this is his refusal to sacrifice his own performance or status as top man for the good of the team. ALSO CAUTION, to other fans - the 7.5 million clause is a misnomer, that sum is what goes to us. It'll cost upwards of 20 million (5 million to him, 5 million to agents etc.)+ 80K a week to get him. Not such a great bargain and why nobody got him in previous transfer windows!

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I think the best deal for Arsenal would to be to loan out Ramsey to Bradford FC as a compliment

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They should have got berbatov in the van persie deal. He would have been perfect for arsenal. How they thought giroud and podolski were better options is beyond me.

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Ba won't go to Arsenal

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