Arsenal are likely to be keeping a close eye on the situation at Manchester City with a potential transfer opportunity emerging
Mikel Arteta Manager of Arsenal looks disappointed & dejected during The Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion v Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal could be given a transfer opportunity amid Man City's Premier League charges. (Image: Daniel Weir/Sports Press Photo/Shutterstock)
View 3 Images
Arsenal could be given a possible transfer opportunity by Manchester City, as clubs await the outcome of their appeal and any possible sanctions. City have dominated the headlines over the international break after being found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period.
The independent panel found that City 'artificially inflated' their revenue by around £900 million between 2009 and 2018. They did this through 'sham' sponsorship deals, funded by the club's owners.
It's something that City strongly deny. They have launched an appeal in an attempt to prove their innocence.
If the appeal is rejected by the new three-person panel, then the clubs look set to face serious punishments, which could include relegation from the Premier League and transfer bans. If they are expelled by the league, then there is likely to be a fire sale of players, something which Arsenal and Mikel Arteta could take advantage of.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
So who is one player the Gunners should target if the situation unfolds? football.london writers have had their say..
Amie Wilson
The first name that comes to mind is the obvious one of Erling Haaland. It does feel like Arsenal are slightly short up front, especially with the injury to Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres struggling to make too much of an impact.
Who better to bring in than one of the world’s best strikers? He has proven that he can consistently score goals in the Premier League and he would likely take Arsenal to another level in the Champions League.
Thinking outside of the box, another name who could be useful to Arsenal is Antoine Semenyo. The 26-year-old is able to play both out wide and up front, with the versatility coming in useful as he could provide competition in all attacking positions.
Amid the speculation over Noni Madueke’s future, bringing in Semenyo would feel like an upgrade on the England international.
Antoine Semenyo of Manchester City during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Manchester City and Exeter City
Antoine Semenyo has been in superb form since joining Manchester City(Image: Getty)
View 3 Images
Abbie Meehan
Almost everybody with eyes and a lick of football knowledge will choose the formidable Erling Haaland to join Arsenal. He is already desired by every big club in the world, and even some national teams - including the Three Lions - wished he'd swapped allegiances to represent their country.
But I think I'll dip into a different pooling and push for a midfield alternative that Mikel Arteta had been keen on in the summer. Think World Cup winner and double Copa America trophy lifter, Enzo Fernandez.
The Argentine playmaker would be a perfect fit for Arsenal's midfield, bringing the fire, running power and shot power they require across all competitions. Yes, the Gunners secured Bruno Guimaraes in the summer and they have the likes of Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino and Declan Rice.
But I believe Fernandez would bring leadership into a team that has lost some senior voices in the latest transfer windows. Call me Devil's advocate but the 25-year-old feels like the best option for Arteta to secure in a cut-price deal.
Bruna Reis
“One Man City star to join Arsenal decided” feels like it is pointing towards an attacking player and, for me, that would be Jeremy Doku. Arsenal failed to sign a left winger in the summer despite being heavily linked with the likes of Vinicius Junior and Morgan Rogers, so the position remains one they could look to strengthen.
Given the spotlight City are under right now, it is difficult to see many players wanting to remain at the club if they were to receive an extreme punishment, and Arsenal could look to take advantage of that situation. Doku would be a good fit for the wing role, offering pace, directness and the ability to take on defenders.
Arsenal did sign Christos Tzolis, but that move was essentially to replace Leandro Trossard, while Noni Madueke has also been linked with a move away to Atletico Madrid and Juventus. Should either club, or another suitor, come for his services in January, that could leave Arsenal light in wide areas, making Doku a logical target if they decide to strengthen their attack in a cut-price deal.
Connor O’Neill
This is an easy one. There is only one choice, and that is Erling Haaland. I still believe Arsenal are missing an elite centre-forward. While Viktor Gyokeres is good, he's not elite, and given his lack of game time so far this season, you do wonder whether Mikel Arteta thinks the same. Haaland would guarantee Arsenal goals. He’s a born finisher, with him leading the line; you could even see the Gunners winning the Champions League. Haaland, quite simply, can take Arsenal to another level.
Kasra Moradi
If there’s one Manchester City player Arsenal should try to snap up - with the exception of the Norwegian terror himself - it’s Jeremy Doku. The left wing position still remains unresolved despite the Gunners targeting the area going into the summer window.
Christos Tzolis was signed as a promising squad player in the mould of Leandro Trossard. But reports throughout the summer repeatedly claimed the Greece international was brought in to accompany a more established, world class option on that flank, which the Gunners pursued but ultimately failed to bring in.
It is clear when watching Arsenal that, despite Tzolis’ early promise, Arteta needs a left winger who can provide goals, guile and pace. Doku is the solution.
The Belgian is a better dribbler than anyone in the current Arsenal squad and has the explosiveness to beat several men, taking some of the pressure off Saka on the opposite flank when it comes to creating chances. He is also a far more natural winger than Eberechi Eze, who Arsenal have tried to shoe-horn in out wide despite him favouring central positions.
Doku is a better chance creator than his team-mate Antoine Semenyo too, managing 23 league assists compared to the Ghanaian’s 13 across the past three seasons. His ability to create goal-scoring opportunities out of nothing means he should be top of Arteta’s City wish list.
Jeremy Doku during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Manchester City and Sunderland at Etihad Stadium.
Jeremy Doku could be a City player that Arsenal may target(Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
View 3 Images
Tom Victor
How do you improve one of the best squads in the Premier League? By future-proofing it, of course.
Arsenal have been long-time admirers of Ayyoub Bouaddi and were sniffing around before Lille protected his value with a bumper new contract. They were never going to match Manchester City’s bid this summer but being able to nab him in a fire sale is a different matter.
Sure, the obvious choice would be Erling Haaland, while there are other attackers who could no doubt give Arsenal something different in the final third. However, adding 19-year-old Bouaddi to 20-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly would make it easier to transition to the next great Arsenal team.
Mikel Arteta’s decision to commit to the club until 2030 means he must be thinking about the longer-term future too.This would give him one less thing to worry about.
Stephen Killen
Arsenal should sign Elliot Anderson. It comes as no surprise that he was so widely courted following his performances at Nottingham Forest.
And if his performances for England to go by, he is the perfect deputy to Declan Rice. The Three Lions looked as strong with the North East man in the midfield in the Arsenal midfielders' absence.
There’s a reason why Rice missed Thomas Tuchel’s recent camp, too. The workload and dependency places on the former West Ham man has led to his workload being managed. For the benefit of Rice’s long-term fitness, Arsenal need a suitable option in midfield.
Anderson is that man, four years Rice’s junior, it could be a dynasty-defining midfield for Arsenal.