Sandro Tonali has been linked with a transfer to Arsenal and Mikel Arteta has been sent a brutal message for if he wants to sign the Newcastle United star
13:48, 04 Jun 2026Updated 13:53, 04 Jun 2026
Arsenal have been sent a brutal Sandro Tonali transfer message
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Arsenal have been sent a brutal Sandro Tonali transfer message(Image: (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images))
Arsenal have been told they would have to sell one of Declan Rice or Martin Zubimendi to sign Sandro Tonali. The Newcastle United star has been linked with a move to the Gunners and midfield is one of the areas they are looking to strengthen this summer.
Anthony Gordon's move to Barcelona has lessened the Magpies' need to sanction another significant sale even though they have no European football for next season. A departure could still take place but former Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal has suggested an exit would also need to happen in north London.
Speaking to Rekatochklart.no, he said: "If Arsenal sign Tonali, obviously they will have the best midfield in the world, but they signed Zubimendi last year for a lot of money, so it is a difficult one.
"To have both Tonali, Zubimendi, and Rice would be a lot, so I can only imagine that they would have to sell either Zubimendi or Declan Rice if they really want Tonali. In my opinion, they already have the two best defensive midfielders in the world."
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Zubimendi would almost certainly be the midfielder sacrificed given his reduced minutes in the last few months alongside Rice's importance and price tag.
The Spaniard, who joined the club last summer from Real Sociedad, played almost every minute in the first half of the 2025/26 campaign and that showed in the last few months.
He was taken out of the team for a number of weeks with Myles Lewis-Skelly brought in from the cold which saw Declan Rice pushed into a deeper role.
Having previously been deployed at left-back, the Hale End academy graduate now looks to be a full-time member of Arteta's midfield ranks.
Myles Lewis-Skelly of Arsenal reacts
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Myles Lewis-Skelly's Arsenal future looks set to be in midfield
That could see a new full-back come into the club with Arsenal appearing well-stocked in that department with Jurrien Timber, Ben White, Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori.
The latter has been linked with Real Madrid in recent days and could yet have some competition for his role with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown of interest to Arsenal, as football.london understands.
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The versatile 22-year-old being signed could help ease the load on Gabriel Magalhaes with Calafiori and Hincapie both capable of covering at left centre-back.
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers and Eli Junior Kroupi of Bournemouth are among the attacking targets that sporting director Andrea Berta will likely be pursuing this summer.
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