SUNDAY TRANSFER NEWS- Sad news for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal as ‘magnificent’ left-footed Arsenal player has found himself another club and wants to go- Arsenal don’t want to sell him to direct PL rivals
Arsenal will accept offers in the region of £25m for a winger who only signed a new contract last summer, and an approach has already been made for his potential replacement.
Arsenal boast very few weaknesses within their impressive squad, though the lack of adequate back-up for Bukayo Saka is a rare concern.
Saka has developed an unfortunate tendency to fade down the stretch in seasons. Indeed, his last 10 league outings in the 2021/22 campaign returned just two goals and two assists.
The 2022/23 season produced a similar outcome for the right winger who scored just once and provided zero assists in his final six matches.
Saka bagged three goals in his last nine league outings in the latest season, though two of those strikes came from the penalty spot.
Many believe Saka’s poor form at the business end of seasons is due to Mikel Arteta’s reluctance – or inability – to safely rotate the winger throughout the season.
Arsenal do boast a left-footed back-up in the form of Reiss Nelson, though the homegrown star started just one Premier League match last term.
Clearly, Nelson is not a player Arteta has any great faith in despite signing a new four-year contract last July.
According to reports, the Gunners are fully prepared to cash in on Nelson and sign an upgrade who’ll lighten the load on Saka.
Arsenal want £25m for Nelson; approach for LaLiga winger made
Firstly, Football Insider state Arsenal ‘would accept’ a competitive offer for Nelson. Regarding the type of sums they’re targeting, it’s claimed a bid around the £25m mark will be enough to seal a deal.
Nelson’s sale would represent pure profit on Arsenal’s balance sheet given his status as a homegrown player.
Given Nelson has proven to be nothing more than a fringe player under Arteta, an exit is now a distinct possibility if suitable offers are received.
The report concluded any funds generated would be funnelled back towards a new signing. To that end, Spanish outlet AS claims Arsenal have made an approach to sign Girona winger, Viktor Tsygankov.
The Ukraine international, 25, bagged 15 goal contributions in 30 LaLiga outings for Girona last term.
Tsygankov was a key factor in Girona upsetting the odds and finishing third in LaLiga. They’ve qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history, though whether Tsygankov will be there to reap the rewards is another matter entirely.
The left-footed right winger can be signed via a release clause worth just €30m/£25.5m. As such, Arsenal could almost cover the entire cost of signing Tsygankov if they generate their target £25m fee for Nelson.
