Arsenal put £30m signing up for sale, with double exit now assured

A pair of Arsenal exits involving a £30m signing and an assists machine are on the cards for next summer, according to reports.

Arsenal reined in their spending last summer, forking out around £95m on permanent deals David Raya, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino. Factoring in the proceeds from the sales of stars such as Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah, Arsenal’s net spend was just £17.2m.

Smith Rowe was allowed to leave in part due to the rapid rise of wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri. Of course, Martin Odegaard serves as the chief playmaker in midfield, though Nwaneri is now the one providing expert back-up to the Norwegian.

With Odegaard and Nwaneri likely to lock down the playmaking duties for many years to come, another player out in the cold is Fabio Vieira.

The Portuguese cost £30m (prior to add-ons) when bought from FC Porto in 2022. Vieira, now 24, has been put up for sale, according to Mail Plus.

Vieira is currently on loan back at Porto, though the agreement does NOT contain an option or obligation to buy.

As such, he’ll return to north London at season’s end, at which point he’ll be tasked with finding a new club.

Mail Plus concluded Arsenal are ‘ready to listen to offers’ for the player and are on board with selling him outright.

READ MORE: The key contract details of every Arsenal first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…

Assists machine to follow Fabio Vieira out

Vieira won’t be the only one leaving Arsenal next summer. Left-back Nuno Tavares – currently loaned to Lazio – is also expected to depart.

Tavares has remarkably notched eight assists in just nine Serie A matches for Lazio this season. His devastating displays have already prompted Lazio owner and president, Claudio Lotito, to suggest Tavares is now worth upwards of €70m.

Lazio inserted a conditional obligation to buy worth just £7.5m in their loan agreement with Arsenal.

The exact conditions that will force the clause to be activated aren’t yet clear, though the fact Tavares is featuring regularly could play a part in triggering the clause.

And per Mail Plus, even if Tavares doesn’t join Lazio outright, Arsenal will still ‘look to sell’ the defender despite his stellar showings in Italy.

Latest Arsenal news – Cunha, Jover

In other news, Caught Offside claim Arsenal have held ‘initial talks’ over the signing of Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha.

The 25-year-old has scored seven goals and provided three assists in the Premier League this season. Those figures appear all the more impressive when factoring in how poor Gary O’Neil’s side – who currently sit 19th – have been.

Elsewhere, Manchester United legend Gary Neville has been rattled by an ultra-effective Arsenal man.

Speaking on a watchalong during Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Man Utd, Neville declared set piece coach, Nicolas Jover, is “the most annoying bloke in football.” Both of Arsenal’s goals in the contest came from corners.

Since the start of last season, the Gunners have scored 22 times in the Premier League from just corners. The next best team is Manchester City with seven fewer on 15.

Fabio Vieira far less effective at Arsenal