Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

European suitors ‘working’ on damaging Arsenal raid as manager uses ‘very good’ Arteta relationship to tee up deal

Fabio Vieira, Granit Xhaka, William Saliba, September 2022

An important Arsenal player may leave the Emirates this summer as a German club are ‘working’ on signing him, according to reports.

Arsenal remain in the Premier League title race, though they are no longer favourites. Ever since the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City, Arteta’s men have been chasing Pep Guardiola’s side. At the time of writing, Arsenal are just one point behind City, though the league leaders have a game in hand and can extend that gap to four points if they win it.

Arteta has urged his players not to let their foot off the gas so they can be ready to strike if City do surprisingly end up dropping points.

One of the main reasons for optimism among Arsenal fans is that City are not just hunting the Prem title. The Citizens are also aiming to end their Champions League woes and will come up against Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night.

Arsenal will be hoping City are too focused on their Champions League campaign and that this results in them slipping up domestically. This is unlikely, but there is still a chance it will happen.

Arteta needs to take his squad to the next level with some top-quality signings this summer if Arsenal are to challenge for the Prem crown again next season while also going far in the Champions League.

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One of the main areas of the squad he wants to improve is central midfield, with Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo both being eyed. However, such transfers might push Granit Xhaka out of North London.

Tuesday’s Transfer Gossip revealed Xhaka is facing a ‘dilemma’ at Arsenal due to the expected signings of two new midfielders and this could see him head to Bayer Leverkusen. Interestingly, Leverkusen were linked with Xhaka last summer, though they did not manage to strike a deal for the former Borussia Monchengladbach ace.

Arsenal man might head back to Germany

German outlet Sport1 have provided their information on the 30-year-old’s future. It is claimed Leverkusen are ‘working’ to sign Xhaka ahead of next season.

Club chiefs at the Bundesliga side have discussed Xhaka internally both last summer and in recent months, with the player being described as a ‘hot topic’ over there.

Leverkusen are more likely to capture Xhaka this time around due to having Xabi Alonso as their manager. The former Liverpool midfielder, who took charge of Leverkusen in October, is a ‘big advocate’ of Xhaka.

Making the transfer even more likely is the fact Alonso has a ‘very good’ relationship with Arteta. This is because they were briefly team-mates at Real Sociedad and have remained close ever since.

The report explains how this relationship between the two coaches should help Leverkusen in their transfer discussions with Arsenal.

While Xhaka could lose his place to Caicedo or Rice if he remains at Arsenal, his departure would still be a loss for the club. In the last two seasons he has become a hugely influential player under Arteta, emerging into one of their main leaders and putting in a plethora of top displays.

The Switzerland international has excelled in a box-to-box role this term, chipping in with five goals and seven assists during 34 Premier League appearances.

A majority of Arsenal supporters would be sad to see Xhaka depart this summer. That is testament to how well he has done in the last two years, having previously been a highly controversial figure at the club.

Meanwhile, Scottish giants Rangers are determined to sign an Arsenal defender, according to a report.