SETTABLOID

Arsenal have identified another potential Thomas Partey replacement with the midfielder expected to depart this summer. Despite a promising end to the 2023/24 season, Partey remains likely to leave the Gunners over the next few months with injury problems plaguing his last few campaigns.

With Mikel Arteta’s side fighting for the Premier League title, Partey started six of the last nine games which perfectly showed his importance. “We need him because he’s a top player, a very important player for us and you can see on the pitch as well what kind of impact he can have for us,” Arteta said in a press conference.

“He’s our player, he’s got one more year’s contract and I’m really happy with him.” Despite that admission and the 30-year-old’s desire to stay, selling Partey is probably the best outcome for both parties with a move to Saudi Arabia likely.

Considering Arsenal’s internal exit stance on Partey being known for some time, the Gunners have already targeted several potential midfield replacements. Martin Zubimendi, Bruno Guimaraes, Joshua Kimmich and Amadou Onana have all been linked with a stunning new update on the latter’s future at Everton made clear recently.

While those four names have been of interest to Arsenal for some time, links to AS Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana have gathered pace with the 25-year-old expected to leave France this summer. “He [Fofana] is probably one of the players that we are open to selling. We will see the opportunities that he has,” club CEO Thiago Scuro revealed last month via Get French Football News.

Following his superb season at Monaco, interest is strong in acquiring his services with Arsenal joined by AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in having already made contact with the players’ representatives, according to a report from L’Équipe.

Fofana is said to be valued at just €30million (£26m) because his contract expires next summer but that price could increase if several clubs enter a bidding war. The France international has already offered an update on his future but he was coy on confirming his final decision with the expectation his future will be resolved after the European championships.

“We haven’t yet spoken about it with the sporting director,” he told Get French Football News in April. “He will allow me to finish the season so that there aren’t too many things in my head and if I then go to the Euros with the France national team, we will speak about it upon my return. We haven’t dwelt on it.”

Arsenal now appear to be in pole position for the £45m-rated forward as the Slovenia international prefers moving to the Emirates after finding himself at the centre of a transfer battle

Benjamin Sesko favours a move to Arsenal this summer.

‌RB Leipzig striker Sesko is being courted by a host of clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United while there is strong interest from Italy. But Arsenal now appear to be in pole position for the £45m-rated forward as the Slovenia international prefers moving to the Emirates after finding himself at the centre of a transfer battle.

‌That is a huge boost for the Gunners with Mikel Arteta eyeing a young striker who can develop and work in tandem with Kai Havertz who was a revelation for Arsenal last season. His agent Elvis Basanovic has been to Arsenal matches this season and Sesko – who turns 21 on Friday – would fit the bill.

RB Leipzig are prepared to sell this summer if they can broker the right deal even though he has only been with them for the past year but has been within the same “family” of clubs, having joined Red Bull Salzburg in 2019.

‌Sesko is in the Slovenia squad for the Euros and they will face England in the Group stages at the tournament in Germany this summer. He is 6ft 5in, has a good goal record and is not the only name on Arsenal’s shortlist but they have been tracking and scouting him all season.

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‌Arsenal are unlikely to make a superstar signing this summer but are in the market for an up-and-coming No9 and a winger while they may move for a midfielder if Thomas Partey ends up departing.‌

They will have cash to spend but Arsenal are expecting departures with Aaron Ramsdale, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe potential exits while Bayern Munich are watching developments on Oleksandr Zinchenko.

According to Corriere dello Sport (via SportWitness), Arsenal are prepared to pay a high commission fee to sign Bologna centre-forward Joshua Zirkzee this summer.

The London heavyweights have been fancied to land a new centre-forward and they have been linked with plenty of names. Zirkzee is one of those and Corriere dello Sport claim that Arsenal have the upper hand in the pursuit.

AC Milan are also interested in the former Bayern man, but they could find it difficult to recruit him due to the hefty commission required for agent Kia Joorabchian to secure an agreement.

Zirkzee has a release clause of £34 million in his current deal at the Serie A outfit. Joorabchian plans to demand £9m-£13m which Arsenal would have no problem in paying to sign the striker.

Talented striker

The Dutchman had a good 2023/24 campaign with 12 goals and 7 assists to his name. He was a key catalyst behind Bologna’s fantastic league season which saw them qualify for the Champions League.

Bologna would ideally prefer to keep him for another year or so, but they could be helpless, considering there are several European clubs including Juventus, who are interested in triggering his release clause.

Arsenal could have the advantage over the Serie A giants due to their better financial power. The Gunners could be willing to pay a higher agent fee to put themselves in pole position to sign the 22-year-old.

Zirkzee has similar traits as Kai Havertz in the final 3rd. He has an aerial presence and can hold-up play effectively. The young striker also possesses good positional sense and can dribble past opponents with pace.

As per Understat, Zirkzee scored 12 league goals last season with an xG of 9.11. With better creative players around him at Arsenal, he could develop into a potent goalscorer for the London club in the long run.

If Arsenal were to sign him, there could be at least 1 departure from the frontline. Eddie Nketiah could be the player to make way, having barely got off the bench during the 2nd half of the 2023/24 season.

Arsenal have received a big boost in their hopes of signing Everton midfielder Amadou Onana this summer, after being heavily linked in the January window.

The 22-year-old has been a key player for the Toffees since joining the club from Lille back in the summer of 2022. Last season saw him make 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring three times.

football.london understands that Arsenal explored a possible deal for Onana back in the January transfer window. There were also reports of ‘intensive’ talks between the two clubs over a possible deal.

It seems that talks could now re-open, with Everton’s stance ahead of the summer transfer window outlined. According to HITC, Onana is one of Everton’s valuable assets that they are willing to part with in the summer with the Toffees demanding a fee of more than £50 million.

The club have some financial worries amid uncertainty over a takeover, meaning that they may be forced into sales this summer. It is said that Onana is one of the players that they could let go.

If the midfielder does arrive at Arsenal, then it could be a big boost for Declan Rice. Onana’s position means that he would be able to play a deeper role, therefore allowing Rice to push further up the pitch and allowing him to have more impact in attacking areas.

Speaking back in March, Rice highlighted how he is improving his attacking game after being asked to play in a more advanced role under Mikel Arteta.

“The way Mikel wants his six to play is completely different to his eight,” he said. “At times when I have been playing recently, I have been highest up the pitch, which is unnatural to me but I am learning.

“My strongest position is six – I’ve built my career on that – but when Mikel says he wants to me to play eight I am excited to get up the pitch, score goals and drive with the ball. Luckily, I can play both, but there are still areas of improvement in both.”

Arteta will be keen to add to his squad over the summer window as the club look to push for the Premier League title again in the 2024/25 season.

Arsenal are set to offer Mikel Arteta something they never gave to former manager Arsene Wenger to sign a new deal, according to a report.

Arteta is currently contracted at Arsenal until 2025, but a new deal is in the works as the club looks to hold onto their esteemed manager.

He’s guided the Gunners to back-to-back second-place finishes in the Premier League, having taken Manchester City all the way this season.

They took the title race to the final day of the campaign, missing out on top spot by just two points, having picked up four points over Pep Guardiola’s side in the league this season.

Arsenal want to enter formal contract talks with Arteta over fresh, new terms that would keep him at the Emirates beyond 2025.

If the 42-year-old pens a new contract, then he would become the club’s highest-paid manager in their history, per a report.

Wenger currently holds that record in his last contract, which was worth around £8 million-per-year.

Any contract offer to the Spaniard will see him become one of the highest-paid managers in the Premier League, alongside Man City boss Guardiola, who bags a reported £19.7 million-per-year.

At the Globe Soccer Awards, where Arteta won the Best Premier League Coach award, he was asked what is next for Arsenal, he said: “Win. Win, win and win. That’s what we want.

“I feel extremely proud because when I decided to stop my career as a football player, I thought that all the joy and best moments were gone.

“We’ve been building for a few years and right now we have a team that is full of enthusiasm, and so hungry to win trophies.

“We know the competition, but we believe we can do it, so we’re going to give it a real go.

Arsenal are reportedly prepared to walk away from their pursuit of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi after being left frustrated by a lack of progress in negotiations. Zubimendi has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium and is said to be Mikel Arteta’s top target ahead of the summer transfer window.

Arsenal were said to have been interested in a January move for Zubimendi but nothing materialised at that stage and he ended up staying in Spain. However, a deal could reportedly be done in advance of next season with Arteta keen to bolster his midfield in preparation for a renewed Premier League title challenge.

The Gunners are thought to be huge admirers of Zubimendi but there is a chance they could walk away from the table unless a speedy breakthrough is made in negotiations. A deal has stalled in recent weeks, according to HITC, with Arsenal growing increasingly frustrated over a lack of progress in talks with the player’s camp.

It is said that Zubimendi remains Arteta’s top midfield target, with the Spaniard convinced that he would be the perfect fit for the club next season. Arsenal are reportedly willing to pay his £51million release clause but the 25-year-old is yet to give the green light to the move.

The report adds that Arsenal are looking to get things wrapped up quickly and have informed Zubimendi they will move on if nothing can be agreed in the near future. He recently played down the speculation by insisting that he was happy at Sociedad and in no rush to leave the club for pastures new.

They are just rumours, I am happy at Real Sociedad, it is like my home,” Zubimendi told Spanish outlet Marca last month. “I cannot say that I will play my entire career at Real Sociedad, perhaps the club won’t want me to continue in the future, but I do not concern myself with these rumours.”

It remains to be seen who Arsenal will target if they fail to secure a move for Zubimendi, with a handful of other midfielders said to be of interest to the Gunners. They are reported to have already done their due diligence on the likes of Joao Neves, Amadou Onana and Bruno Guimaraes.

Aston Villa playmaker Douglas Luiz is also said to remain on Arsenal’s shortlist after initially being linked with the north Londoners last year. However, the fact that Villa have qualified for next season’s Champions League would suggest that any deal for the Brazilian is likely to be a non-starter.

Arsenal could reportedly be ready to offload as many as nine first-team players in a major transfer clear-out this summer.

The Gunners seem likely to make some changes to their squad after coming so close to winning a tight Premier League title race with Manchester City, and it seems outgoings could be as important as incomings.

According to the Times, Arsenal may cash in on homegrown players like Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson, while others such as Aaron Ramsdale, Kieran Tierney, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares could also be sold.

On top of that, there are even doubts over both Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior, who both found themselves in and out of Mikel Arteta’s starting line up over the course of the season just gone, with Takehiro Tomiyasu starting at left-back ahead both players when he returned to fitness.

Arsenal clear-out on the cards?

Ramsdale, for instance, performed well for Arsenal before being slightly unlucky to lose his place to David Raya, so could surely start for most Premier League clubs.

Arsenal “would be sending a serious message” by landing Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford this summer, according to a transfer insider.

The Gunners had a brilliant season in the Premier League but missed out on winning the title on the final day with Man City’s 3-1 win over West Ham handing Pep Guardiola’s side the championship.

However, the continued improvement under Mikel Arteta has put Arsenal in a brilliant position to attract some of the best names in world football to the Emirates Stadium.

They have the reputation to attract the best players again, as well as their continued participation in the Champions League next term, and Man Utd forward Rashford is one player who they have recently been linked to.

A report earlier this week claimed that Arteta has spoken to Rashford over a potential summer move to Arsenal in what GiveMeSport describe as ‘secret talks’.

And now GiveMeSport transfer insider Dean Jones claims that although he hasn’t “heard anything so far that backs this story up”, he reckons it would be “pretty wild to be completely fake”.

Jones told GiveMeSport: “There are links with Rashford going to Arsenal, and having had conversations with Arteta, this would be a monstrous moment if that was true.

“I haven’t heard anything so far that backs this story up but I don’t see why someone would make this up, because if you want to seem in the know, you would at least come up with something that seems realistic. This seems so big that it would be pretty wild to be completely fake.

“Anyway, if it is true, can it even happen? I would say no when you consider Rashford’s potential transfer fee of somewhere close to £80million, plus the fact he is one of United’s top earners and picks up £350,000-a-week.

“A wage like that would smash through the ceiling of what they currently pay and when you consider the form he’s been in, it could be a risk. But, in general, signing Rashford? Wow, that would be sending a serious message about where they are aiming.”

Arsenal are trying to negotiate a new long-term contract for Arteta and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists that they “will enter into concrete and advanced talks” soon with the Spaniard.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Arsenal are prepared to enter into advanced conversations with Mikel Arteta and his representatives to extend his contract. Arsenal didn’t want to discuss it during the season, they were waiting for the end of the Premier League, but in private conversations they always made it clear that they wanted to extend his contract.

“Arteta’s current contract expires in 2025 and they didn’t want to enter into the new season with this still being unresolved, so the idea is very clear – after some initial contacts in April/May, now he will enter into concrete and advanced talks to extend his contract.

“Arsenal want Arteta to be one of the best paid managers in Europe, and to give him new power with the new contract. Despite links with Barcelona, he was never a candidate for the job because he’s super happy at Arsenal, convinced by the project, 100% involved in the planning for the future, and also Edu and all the directors are very happy with Arteta. Obviously they want to finally win titles, but credit to everyone involved because the way they are progressing is something very special.

“Everyone at Arsenal, including the players of course, is very happy with Arteta’s management style, and that’s why the expectation is to continue together, and to reach an agreement soon.”

A player often linked with an Arsenal move this summer has now been seeking advice from Mykhailo Mudryk, who once came famously close to joining the club himself.

Although Edu Gaspar will operate amid fairly strict Profit and Sustainability Rules this summer, it’s believed that the club will spend big again.

Mikel Arteta needs three, four or maybe even five new faces to improve this Arsenal squad, perhaps enabling them to finally overcome Manchester City to win the league.

If it is to be Pep Guardiola’s last season at the Etihad, then it would be the perfect time for Arteta to begin his trophy winning legacy at the club – one that now seems inevitable.

Arsenal won’t want to be remembered at the side who waited for Guardiola to depart in order to begin their success, it would leave a slight tarnish on anything they go on to succeed.

That being said, a marquee signing to begin the summer could provide the necessary confidence that Arsenal could lift the 2024/25 title.

Shakhtar Donetsk’s Georgiy Sudakov is a talent who is admired by almost all of Europe’s top clubs right now, and the 21-year-old has been linked with Arsenal.

Mykhailo Mudryk tells Georgiy Sudakov he’s not ready amid Arsenal links

Sudakov is admired by the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, and has made it clear that he now wants to come to the Premier League.

And in an interview with iNews, Sudakov has actually admitted that his close friend, Mudryk, doesn’t share his belief that he’s ready to come to England.

Mudryk has endured a fairly difficult time at Chelsea since his high profile move – one that followed intense interest from Arsenal.

And speaking in the interview, Mudyrk appeared to be worried that his former teammate, who is valued at around £60m, may experience something similar.

Sudakov explained: “I was telling Misha (Mudryk) about how much I want to play in the Premier League and how it would be great to play in the same team.

Arsenal are reportedly preparing a bid to sign a £51 million player targeted by Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich, and it is believed the Gunners want to act fast to win the race.

Edu could sign new world-class striker for Arsenal this summer

Mikel Arteta’s side were praised for their excellent attacking form last season, despite just losing out on the Premier League title to eventual champions Man City, who won a national record fourth league crown in a row.

The north Londoners scored over 90 goals in the league alone, with the majority of their strikes coming courtesy of Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz. Their attacking contributions came from across the forward line in the absence of a world-class natural number nine, which is testament to the fluidity of Arsenal’s side going forward.

However, it has been widely reported that sporting director Edu could soon put that to an end, as Arsenal are actively seeking a new striker this summer. Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah are Arteta’s only senior options in that position right now, but both are facing uncertain futures at the Emirates Stadium.

A guaranteed 25-plus-goals-per-season front man has long been thought of as the missing piece of the jigsaw, with Arsenal chiefs eager to source it before the start of next season.

“Arsenal are seeking to sign a prime striker before their pre-season tour,” wrote reliable journalist Miguel Delaney for The Independent recently.

A forward who Arsenal have been regularly linked with is Bologna star Joshua Zirkzee, coming after the Dutchman’s excellent Serie A campaign.

The Bavarians, who will now be lead by new manager Kompany (Fabrizio Romano), possess a buy-back clause regarding Zirkzee – which hands them an advantage. However, if they decide not to formalise their interest, Arsenal would be handed a fairly clear run.

Arsenal chiefs apparently want to move quickly for Zirkzee as they seek to end their long search for a natural striker of real quality. Stefano Pioli, commenting on the £51 million Zirkzee last season, claimed he is a striker who “has everything”.

Arsenal preparing bid for Joshua Zirkzee

According to Italian newspaper Tuttosport, as relayed by Spanish media, Arsenal are preparing an official bid for Zirkzee, but Bundesliga giants Bayern also have the striker on their list of potential targets and are “involved” in the race.