Antoine Semenyo is expected to leave Bournemouth in Januaryplaceholder image
Antoine Semenyo is expected to leave Bournemouth in January | Getty Images
Arsenal only need to fine tune what is one of the strongest squads in Europe and could be given the chance to sign one of the continent’s best wingers.
Arsenal have a bit of fine tuning to do over the next two transfer windows with the priority being on upgrades rather than needing to provide depth.
The starting XI and matchday squad as a whole is as good as any in Europe, but there are still one or two positions that Mikel Arteta would want to strengthen to give him the best chance possible to compete on all four fronts throughout a long campaign.
Antoine Semenyo set to join Man City
Arsenal knew how much it would take to sign Semenyo, however, as explained by David Ornstein on The Athletic FC podcast, he is heading for The Etihad: “It's not completed yet, but there's every expectation it will be. And we'll have to wait and see on the finances, whether it's the clause, whether it's outside the clause, which sometimes people do to improve the payment terms, contract lengths, medicals and all that sort of thing.
“So Pep Guardiola is going to have Antoine Semenyo at his disposal for the second half of the season, which I think will excite Manchester City fans and a lot of neutrals like myself, who have come to really admire Semenyo.”
Semenyo isn’t the only winger who could provide competition for places on the flanks though with a player who was linked with a move to the Premier League in the summer potentially becoming available.
“I think that Barcola will be a real topic next summer, to leave Paris Saint-Germain,” L’Équipe journalist Loic Tanzi revealed on Ici.
Barcola is a similar profile of player to Semenyo with the France international growing frustrated at losing his place as a key member of the first XI and was linked to Arsenal in December via Le10Sport.
Barcola was summer target for Arsenal rival
Should Arsenal change tact, they could be getting one over on Premier League rivals Liverpool with Fabrizio Romano on his YouTube channel confirming that Barcola had been on their radar before spending big on someone who has yet to live up to their transfer fee.
“Bradley Barcola, this summer, was one of the names being considered by Liverpool in case they couldn’t get Alexander Isak,” the Italian began. “You might say ‘but Barcola is winger, Isak is a striker’… but the plan at Liverpool was let’s get Alexander Isak, if we can’t get Isak, we need another world class player.
“But in case Isak was not available, Barcola was seen as a world-class winger and as an opportunity. For Paris Saint-Germain, he was never for sale. So it was probably going to be an impossible deal. PSG are aware of the interest from the Premier League, they know the interest can come in future [transfer] windows.”
With Liverpool now having Isak, their position on Barcola might have changed. PSG might want to extend the winger’s contract which currently runs until 2028, however, rarely does a player not get their way when they have decided that it is time to move on.
Continue Reading