Arsenal told Premier League rivals are under ‘no pressure’ to sell dream Arteta signing this summer

Arsenal have learnt that one of their Premier League rivals are under ‘no pressure’ to sell one of their key assets this summer, amid interest from the Gunners.

Mikel Arteta’s side stand a great chance of winning some silverware this season and the Spanish boss will already be thinking about how he can improve his squad in the summer.

Arsenal are keen to strengthen several areas in the upcoming transfer window, in order to keep their squad as competitive as possible.

In particular, the Gunners are assessing striker and midfield options. With the long-term future of Thomas Partey and Jorginho up in the air, Arsenal are keen to add another option in this position.

Plenty of names have been considered, one of which being Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz. The Gunners tried to sign the Brazilian midfielder in the summer of 2022, but their £25m offer was promptly rejected.

Fast forward to 2024 and the 25-year-old is on Arsenal’s watchlist once again. According to 90 min, Arteta’s side remain interested in Luiz, although Aston Villa are under ‘no pressure’ to agree a sale.

While Aston Villa are tip-toeing on the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, the club believe that their finances remain under control.

The report claims that Aston Villa are ‘not interested’ in selling Luiz and there is an ‘optimism’ that the player sees his future at Villa Park.

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Arsenal have alternative targets

While Luiz would be a cracking signing for Arteta’s side, the club does have alternative targets. Of them is Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.

According to Football Transfers, Arsenal are willing to offer Zubimendi a five-year contract with a weekly salary of £115,000. For context, that’s double the amount he’s currently earning in Spain.

Unlike Luiz, the Spanish midfielder has a release clause in his contract which is worth a reported €60m. Given it would take a much higher fee to sign Luiz, Arsenal could turn to Zubimendi as a cost-effective alternative.

The 25-year-old has a great reputation in Spain and would be a seamless fit into Arteta’s system to sit alongside Declan Rice.

According to transfer insider Dean Jones, Arteta is a ‘big admirer’ of the Sociedad star. Last month Jones told Give Me Sport: “Obviously, Mikel Arteta is a big admirer of his, and he knows that Arsenal want to sign him.

“Arteta has his own links to Real Sociedad and the region, so that’s good from an Arsenal perspective.”

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