According to reports in Brazil, Arsenal remain interested in Real Madrid winger Rodrygo despite advancing in their pursuit of Chelsea’s Noni Madueke.
Arsenal have reportedly agreed personal terms with the England forward and submitted an opening bid to their London rivals on Wednesday.
Gunners fans online were absolutely disgusted by their club’s reported £50million offer, getting the hashtag #NoToMadueke trending on X in what was an absolute meltdown.
Quite unnecessary, really, considering Arsenal are only trying to sign a 23-year-old England international who recently helped his team win a European trophy and reach the Club World Cup final — all while providing 16 goal contributions across a long 2024/25 campaign.
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It’s not like Andrea Berta and Mikel Arteta are offering Marc Albrighton £50m to come out of retirement, is it?
The main argument against signing Madueke is that Arsenal’s money would be better spent elsewhere — like on Eberechi Eze or Rodrygo.
Reports suggest signing Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Eze is still possible, even if the Chelsea winger joins, while Brazilian journalists Andre Hernan and Felipe Silva have offered hope regarding Rodrygo.
Writing for UOL, Silva and Hernan insist that Arsenal ‘maintain interest in Rodrygo’ and are ‘awaiting Real Madrid’s decision’ on the 24-year-old’s future.
After a fifth consecutive Club World Cup match starting on the bench for the Brazilian winger, his possible departure from Los Blancos ‘is once again being discussed behind the scenes’.
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The Gunners are ‘aware of the situation’ and are ‘considering reactivating talks’ to sign him, after Madrid told them he wasn’t for sale upon Xabi Alonso’s arrival in May.
Madrid and Rodrygo’s representatives are expected to have a ‘meeting in the coming days to decide his future’, and Arsenal are ‘waiting for developments between the parties’ before deciding whether to ‘proceed with negotiations’.
Rodrygo’s preference is to play on the left wing — a position currently occupied by Vinicius Junior — and he could get his wish at the Emirates, with Bukayo Saka an undisputed starter on the right.
Madrid initially wanted ‘around €100million’ (£85m) for Rodrygo, but it’s no longer clear what their asking price is for the player, who is under contract until June 2028.
Spanish outlet Marca reported this week that Rodrygo will be sold this summer.
As mentioned before, Arsenal fans are not happy about their club bidding for Madueke. Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards is also a bit confused.
“I really like him as a player, but I like him on the right and he’s not going to play ahead of Bukayo Saka, is he? So, I’m scratching my head on that one,” Richards said.
“I agree [that they need two players in every position]. But Saka is always fit normally, until he got that really bad injury.”
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