Arsenal still have more business to doplaceholder image
Arsenal still have more business to do | Getty Images
All the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding Arsenal as they gear up for the new season.
Arsenal returned to action on Wednesday night with a clash with Villarreal, and they now face a quick turnaround to take on Athletic Club at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Mikel Arteta’s men will then be on a one-way road to the new season, which kicks off next weekend.
The Gunners have been very busy in the summer transfer window, as they have been over recent summers, but they could yet add more talent to their squad amid a focus on departures at this stage. Here we round up all the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding the Emirates Stadium.
Vieira sale issue
Arsenal are currently set to be concentrating on the sale of unwanted midfielder Fabio Vieira who has failed to cut it at the Emirates Stadium. Vieira spent last season on loan with FC Porto, and he is now said to be attracting interest from German club Stuttgart.
According to Felix Arnold, though, Arsenal are demanding as much as £26.1million to strike a sale, while the German club do not want to pay more than £17.4million. That’s a big gap in negotiations, and while add-ons and the likes could help make up the gap, it seems a deal is not particularly close.
Vieira key to Eze deal
The Vieira deal could be important to Arsenal’s pursuit of Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, according to Football Transfers. They say selling Vieira could be a key point in Arsenal’s transfer window, given they still want to add another creative forward.
Eze is said to be that player, and Arsenal believe they can strike a deal for around £55million, which is £13million less than his previous release clause. Whatever the cost, the Gunners are still a sale or two away from having the financial space to pull off such a deal within current spending rules, and Vieira could be the first big step towards making that deal possible.
Arteta on new season targets
Arsenal boss Arteta previewed the final pre-season friendlies and the start of the new season in the programme for Wednesday night’s game. He said: “We know what our targets are and what we want to achieve this season. There is a big belief in our ability to achieve that. We’ve been very, very close the last few seasons and the whole team is going to determine whether we achieve that or not. But at the same time, we have to make sure that we don’t lose sight of what we have to do on a daily basis to get to the levels that we want.
“We have to set the demands that we want within this goal. Because that’s the most important thing – the internal demands have to always exceed any external demand. That’s what we are trying to achieve every single day.We have to do that all together, with you, our supporters as well. That’s another reason why these two games at home are so important. Let’s show that energy from the first moment. We want our people to start connecting with our players straight away, to start to build momentum, and to start to feel that at home, we are invincible. That we play here with such passion, energy and connection with our people, that we’re going to win the game. Let’s bring that conviction to the stadium again for these two matches.”
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