Arsenal

Every central midfielder that Arsenal have been linked with in 2023: Caicedo, Rice, Zubimendi…

Brighton's Moises Caicedo, West Ham's Declan Rice and Real Sociedad's Martín Zubimendi. TEAMtalk montage.

Arsenal want to bolster their midfield options in 2023 and they’ve reportedly been looking at several transfer targets.

While Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey have formed an impressive partnership in the middle of the park, Arsenal need more depth in that position.

Mohamed Elneny has often struggled with injury problems and Albert Sambi Lokonga is yet to make a major impact in an Arsenal shirt.

We’ve taken a look at every midfielder that Arsenal have been linked with since the start of the calendar year.

Premier League

Moises Caciedo

After buying Leandro Trossard, Arsenal are now looking to raid Brighton for a second time in 2023 as they look to sign Caciedo.

The Gunners have had bids of £60m and £70m turned down by Brighton, who are reportedly holding out for an overall package worth £80m.

Jorginho

With his Chelsea expiring in the summer and Chelsea reportedly looking to trim their squad, the Italian’s name has been mentioned as a possible deadline-day target for the Gunners. The claims have been made by both Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein, who suggest a summer deal may be on the cards if the parties cannot strike a January agreement.

Declan Rice

The Times exclusively revealed that Arsenal have made Rice their top transfer target and are increasingly confident of beating Chelsea to his signature.

A report from the Guardian adds that the West Ham captain is leaning towards joining Arsenal this summer due to the prospect of playing for Mikel Arteta.

Amadou Onana

Despite only joining Everton from Lille in a £33m deal last summer, Onana has already been linked with a move away from Goodison Park.

According to reports in Belgium and England, Arsenal and Chelsea could go head-to-head in a battle for the 21-year-old.

Youri Tielemans

Tielemans was heavily linked with a move to the Emirates last summer but his wage demands were reportedly beyond what Arsenal were willing to pay.

Speaking to TEAMtalk, Graeme Bailey has confirmed that the Leicester midfielder is still on Arsenal’s list of targets but a summer move looks more likely as he’ll be available on a free transfer.

La Liga

Martin Zubimendi

According to Cadena Ser, Arsenal have been impressed by Zubimendi’s performances for Real Sociedad and were prepared to trigger the £52.7m release clause in his deal during the January transfer window.

But the Spain international has made it clear to technical director Edu that he has no intention of leaving the Basque side in the middle of the season.

Fortunately for Arsenal, Mundo Deportivo have since claimed that the player has opened the door to a summer move instead and wants to play in the Premier League.

Eduardo Camavinga

The Evening Standard claimed that Arsenal were hoping to sign Camavinga on loan until the end of the 2022/23 season, but his agent has confirmed that the France international will stay at Real Madrid.

Yunas Musah

An Arsenal academy graduate, Musah left the Emirates and joined Valencia at the age of 16 but could make a return to north London in 2023.

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that a summer move is very possible for the 20-year-old as Arsenal, alongside Chelsea and Inter Milan, are following him closely.

Serie A

Adrien Rabiot

Rabiot nearly joined Manchester United last summer and has recently spoken of his desire to play and ‘evolve’ in the Premier League.

Reports in Italy suggest that Arsenal have joined the race for his signature and can sign him in January for around £12m as his Juventus contract is set to expire in the summer.

But Gazzetta dello Sport have since claimed the midfielder could now reject advances from the Premier League and remain at Juventus after a big contract offer was submitted.

Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot

Weston McKennie

According to La Gazzetta Dello Sport, Arsenal made an enquiry with McKennie’s agents. Amusingly, his father also weighed in on the speculation.

But this move won’t be happening as the USA international has now agreed to join fellow Premier League side Leeds United on an initial loan deal.

Nicolo Zaniolo

After falling out of favour at Jose Mourinho’s Roma, Zaniolo has reportedly been the subject of bids from Tottenham and Bournemouth.

But La Repubblica and Il Corriere della Sera both claim that Arsenal also want to bring the Italy international to the Premier League in the January transfer window.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

Milinkovic-Savic is no stranger to transfer rumours and Arsenal are reportedly the latest club to express an interest in the Lazio midfielder.

Italian outlet il Corriere dello Sport claim that Edu has been in contact with his agent – the former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman – over a summer switch to the Emirates.

His contract is currently due to expire in the summer of 2024 and reports are indicating an offer of around €50m will convince Lazio to sell.

Arthur Melo

Juventus are interested in Gabriel and Calciomercato claim that they are willing to include Arthur Melo in their offer for the Arsenal centre-back.

The midfielder is currently on loan at Liverpool but has struggled with injury problems this season, making just one substitute appearance for the Reds at the time of writing.

While the report states that Mikel Arteta is a big fan of the 26-year-old, it’s hard to believe that he would sanction this proposed deal.

Any other leagues

Ibrahima Bamba

Bamba has impressed for Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes and Jornal De Noticias believe that Arsenal are ‘on the front line’ to sign the defensive midfielder, who has a €30m release clause.

The report also claims that a representative from FMA Sports, the agency looking after Bamba’s career, travelled to London in January.

However, the player’s agent, Filipe Macedo Alves, has since denied that the purpose of his trip to London was to negotiate Bamba’s move to Arsenal.

Sport Italia claim that the Gunners will now postpone their interest in the 20-year-old until the summer transfer window.

Warren Zaire-Emery

Despite only being 16 years old, Zaire-Emery has already made 10 first-team appearances for Paris Saint-Germain.

RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins claims that Arsenal are among the clubs that are currently monitoring the midfielder’s situation.

But PSG have high hopes for the France Under-19 international, and he has been given an ‘untransferable’ tag by the Ligue 1 giants.

Amine Gouiri and Warren Zaire-Emery

Giannis Konstantelias

Konstantelias, who can also play as a winger, has attracted interest from a host of European clubs after producing a string of eye-catching displays for Greek side PAOK.

According to the Evening Standard, Arsenal sent scouts to watch the 19-year-old in January and PAOK value him at around £10m.

READ MORE: Six reasons why Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will be crowned Premier League champions this season

Arsenal Declan Rice Moises Caicedo

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