Arsenal have Belgium winger Malick Fofana on their shortlist with the player having been offered to the Gunners by Lyon
Malick Fofana
Malick Fofana could join Arsenal before the transfer deadline(Image: Getty Images)
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Arsenal are pushing for a late signing, with Lyon winger Malick Fofana on their shortlist. The 21-year-old was put forward to the club ahead of Tuesday's transfer deadline.
The Gunners are intent on adding another attacker to provide cover for Christos Tzolis, aiming to avoid Eberechi Eze becoming the obvious fallback option should they miss out on Fofana. Arsenal have already finalised exits for Gabriel Martinelli - set to join Al Hilal in a deal worth around £60million, Gabriel Jesus, who will move to Barcelona for £8.6m plus £4.3m in add‑ons, and Fabio Vieira, who is heading to Hamburger SV in a £7.7m transfer.
Leandro Trossard has also left the Emirates, leaving Mikel Arteta short of options on the left flank. Attempts to secure a deal for Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez have so far been unsuccessful.
However, should a deal fail to come to fruition before the transfer deadline, failing to land a left winger to support Tzolis and fill the void left by departing duo Martinelli and Jesus will undoubtedly be considered a significant shortcoming. Berta is already under the microscope for the club's inability, thus far, to pinpoint and secure a genuine upgrade in the wide-left position.
Bradley Barcola attracted admiration from Arsenal, but a price tag in excess of £120m was never going to be entertained. Jeremy Monga was another highly-regarded target whom they made approaches for, yet the club were unwilling to meet the asking price - something Manchester City had no hesitation in doing.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has reaffirmed that Arsenal remain steadfast in their commitment to a self-sustaining model, while insisting this does not mean agreeing to sales that are not in the club's best interests.
Arsenal have so far been unable to agree a deal for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez
Arsenal have so far been unable to agree a deal for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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"That's what we are trying to get as a club but the balance has to be right," Arteta said. "There are areas that we have to improve to hit those numbers. And if it's not with sales, because maybe we don't want.
"We have to sell what we want to sell as well, not just to sell. And then when we want to sell as well, we have to be very careful because some of the assets, after maybe they grow and we still want them.
"So maybe we can grow in other areas across the club as well. And commercially, we've done incredible. The fan base that we have is incredible.
"Our mass revenue is incredible. And there are other ways to grow and that's the club's strategy. But we want to improve in all of them, obviously, because it's going to give us a bigger room to be stronger financially."
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