Arsenal are set to face Unai Emery’s Aston Villa at Villa Park in just a few days time and they are desperately hoping their squad will have expanded by at least one more.
Only two signings have taken place this summer with David Raya joining the Emirates permanently and Riccardo Calafiori making the switch from Serie A last month but it remains to be seen if Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar can secure any more top-level signings before the transfer window closes on August 30.
Here are the latest transfer reports from around the Emirates…
‘Record’ sale ‘secured’ for Arsenal
Nottingham Forest are edging closer to securing the signature of Eddie Nketiah after previously having their bid of £25million rejected. The England international had been thought to head to Ligue 1’s Marseille but talks broke down after the French side failed to match Arsenal’s preferred valuation.
Now, however, the City Ground side appear to be back in the mix and, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the all-time England under-21 top scorer is close to securing a transfer for £30-35m. The last time Arsenal sold a player for such a figure was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who was bought by Liverpool in 2017 for £35m.
To this date, this still marks the highest transfer fee Arsenal have received for a player and the Gunners fans are ready to praise Edu if he is able to pull off selling 25-year-old striker Nketiah for the same figure.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s club are said to now be in discussions with Nketiah’s representatives to agree personal terms. The Premier League side had been testing the waters with a bid for Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez but they were ultimately unable to match the Dutch club’s valuation and it appeared the Mexican wished to remain in the Eredivisie.
£25m target left out of training
Arsenal target and Real Sociedad star Mikel Merino was not involved in his club’s recent training activities, thus suggesting he is set to fly to London imminently in order to complete the long-awaited deal with the Gunners.
According to Football London, the 28-year-old did not train with the La Liga club amid reports that the Gunners have secured a £25m deal for the midfielder’s services and it has been said that Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay is due to meet with the Gunners in order to close the deal. With this in mind, there is a distinct possibility that Merino – who Breaking the Lines described as ‘one of the best in Europe’ – could be involved with the Gunners squad as early as Saturday’s clash against Aston Villa.