“Goodbye…”; Midfielder ‘bids farewell’ to fans and his teammates as he reveals his sensational €60m transfer to Arsenal will happen by January
“Goodbye…”; Midfielder ‘bids farewell’ to fans and his teammates as he reveals his sensational €60m transfer to Arsenal will happen by January
Arsenal are looking to bring in Barcelona star Raphinha and Real Madrid youngster Arda Guler to the Emirates Stadium in the January transfer window, according to reports.
The Gunners have taken a dip in recent weeks with Mikel Arteta’s side only picking up two points in their last four Premier League matches.
That has seen Arsenal drop down to fourth in the Premier League table, below Chelsea, with the Gunners now nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool and four behind defending champions Manchester City.
Their poor run of form initially coincided with William Saliba being sent off for the first time in his Premier League career on the road at Bournemouth.
In their last four league matches, Arsenal lost that match against the Cherries 2-0, drew 2-2 against Premier League leaders Liverpool, were defeated 1-0 at Newcastle and were held to a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in their last fixture.
Six sides have a better attack in the Premier League than Arsenal so far this season and now Arteta is keen to strengthen that area of his side in the January transfer market.
And now reports in Spain claim the Gunners are ‘willing to invest more than 100 million euros (£84m)’ in Raphinha and fellow La Liga star Guler in January.
Signing Raphinha ‘has become a priority for’ Arteta after following the Brazilian’s career since his time in the Premier League at Leeds United.
Barcelona ‘are not willing to let him go easily, and his transfer could exceed 70 million euros, a figure that Arsenal would be willing to assume’, while their ‘second target’ is Turkey international Guler.
With Guler – who starred at Euro 2024 for Turkey – not getting the playing time he was expecting at Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti, Arsenal boss Arteta wants to take him to the Premier League and ‘sees Guler as an ideal complement to Martin Odegaard in the creative zone’.
The report adds that although ‘the signing of Guler could be somewhat more affordable, with a valuation close to 40 million euros, negotiations with Real Madrid will not be easy’.
Arsenal are also still looking at strengthening their midfield options and another report in Spain has claimed that Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi is ‘very close’ to the Gunners.
Zubimendi ‘could be living out his last days’ in San Sebastian with Arsenal boss Arteta ‘not giving up on his desire to bring him into the English dressing room.’
His release clause of around €60m ‘would not be a problem for clubs like Arsenal’ as the Gunners face competition from Man City and other clubs for his signature.
