Double Arsenal boost as top-class attacker gets £42m price drop and Liverpool interest downplayed

Arsenal have a better chance of signing Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz amid an exciting double update on his situation, though their main transfer rivals have been named.

According to the chief reporter of German source Abendzeitung Munich, Maximilian Koch, Wirtz is available for around £83.4million (€100m / US$111.7m), rather than the £125.1m (€150m / US$167.6m) price tag which has previously been mentioned. At £83.4m the attacking midfielder would be in Arsenal’s price range, as their transfer record is the £105m (€125.8m / US$140.6m) capture of Declan Rice from West Ham United in July 2023.

Spending £125m on Wirtz would have seen Arsenal seriously stretch their finances, and it is unclear whether club chiefs at the Emirates would have sanctioned such a deal.

Koch adds that Bayern Munich are poised to enter the race for the classy playmaker too, as he is ‘very popular’ among their senior officials. Elsewhere, Real Madrid are understood to be in with a good chance of landing Wirtz.

The Liverpool Echo, meanwhile, have played down Liverpool’s rumoured interest in the Germany star. In the summer the Reds prioritised a new defensive midfielder over a No 10 such as Wirtz, and that is likely to be the case again in 2025.

Liverpool’s top target for the No 6 role was Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi, and talks were held between the two clubs before the player opted to stay put.

Earlier this week, Fabrizio Romano revealed Liverpool are continuing to monitor Zubimendi’s situation ahead of potentially making new contact for him in the near future.

Arsenal transfers: Tough Florian Wirtz battle looms

On Wednesday, German outlet Bild claimed Arsenal are ‘fully committed’ to signing Wirtz.

Liverpool have been heavily linked with the 21-year-old too. Indeed, last week journalist Diego Mengual suggested Arne Slot’s side will ‘go all out’ to win the race for his services. If the latest information from Koch and the Echo is to be believed, though, then the chase is now down to Arsenal, Bayern and Madrid.

Wirtz wants to challenge for major honours when joining his next club, such as the Champions League and Ballon d’Or. Arsenal will believe they can give him such opportunities, having become Premier League title challengers in recent seasons and amassed one of the best squads in Europe.

However, it is hard to look past Madrid in this particular transfer race. Other than Leny Yoro, Madrid generally do not miss out on their main targets, and Los Blancos president Florentino Perez is a huge admirer of Wirtz.

Madrid have the funds and knowhow required to complete a deal for Wirtz worth upwards of £83m.

Arsenal and Bayern will try to convince last season’s Bundesliga player of the year that he will play more often with them, given the unbelievable options available to Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti.

But it will be tough to stop Wirtz from heading to Spain and linking up with top stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior.

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Gunners round-up: Real Madrid link, striker warning

Amid their pursuit of Wirtz, Madrid are also interested in Arsenal defender William Saliba, who has emerged into one of the best centre-backs in the world under Mikel Arteta’s guidance.

Football Transfers claimed on Wednesday that Madrid hold ‘concrete interest’ in Saliba and would even be willing to offer Rodrygo in a massive player-plus-cash deal.

Arsenal, however, have no intention of letting the Frenchman leave as they view him as a key part of their long-term project. Keeping Saliba will be crucial if Arsenal are to win either the Premier League or Champions League.

Meanwhile, Arsenal been warned against signing Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic by the former agent of Edinson Cavani and Paulo Dybala.

On Tuesday, TEAMtalk revealed Arsenal are once again considering Vlahovic as an option to improve their striker ranks.

But agent Claudio Anellucci has ripped into the player by saying: “Vlahovic, for me, is overrated. I’m not crazy about him, in recent years he has brought home his goals but if we look at the chances he had and the goals scored, the average is low.

“Last year he should have scored 30 goals, but to do well he must always be at 100%, which he can’t do.”

Arsenal have also been linked with Vlahovic’s Juve team-mate Manuel Locatelli in the past.

The midfielder snubbed the chance to join Arsenal in 2021 by instead heading to Juve on an initial loan which became permanent in 2023.

When asked by Tuttosport if he regretted the fact he had not signed for Arsenal, Locatelli replied: “No.

“But I love watching football, and I like watching their games and I respect their coach, Arteta.”

How does Wirtz compare with Martin Odegaard?

In the Bundesliga last season, Wirtz managed 0.42 goals per game and 0.42 assists per game, across 32 matches. Arsenal captain Odegaard, meanwhile, notched 0.23 goals per game and 0.29 assists per game in 35 appearances.

Wirtz had more shots on target per 90 (1.1) than Odegaard (0.7). But Odegaard performed better in terms of key passes per 90, with 2.9 (compared to Wirtz’s 2.3).

The pair were very similar when it came to successful dribbles, with Wirtz’s 51 per cent slightly better than Odegaard’s 49 per cent.

Odegaard was more efficient when he got into the right areas, though. Wirtz missed eight big chances last term, whereas Odegaard only missed two.

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