Arsenal told that signing former Tottenham man ‘asking for trouble’
Arsenal have been told that a rumoured move to land a former Tottenham defender would be ‘asking for trouble’ – if it actually happens.
The Gunners are thought to still be in the market for a new right-back after club stalwart Hector Bellerin joined Real Betis on deadline day. New signing Takehiro Tomiyasu can play in that position, but he is predominantly a centre-back, leaving Mikel Arteta a little light at full-back.
Tottenham, meanwhile, mutually ended the contract of Ivory Coast star Serge Aurier last week. Spurs allowed the 28-year-old to walk away after they completed a deal for Barcelona’s Emerson Royal.
Aurier, who is free to join a new club of his choosing, has since been linked with a shock switch across north London.
However, former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor believes there is ‘no chance’ of that deal happening.
Speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor said: “He didn’t do the job at Spurs, so you’re just asking for trouble if you bring in someone like that from your local rivals. It shows you’re not as good as them.
“There’s no chance he is going to Arsenal.
“Maybe he could go abroad somewhere, he’s getting a bit older now and his legs are nowhere near as good as they were at Paris Saint-Germain.
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“Turkey, maybe, somewhere like that. America or the Middle East could be an option. For sure, he’s certainly still got a lot to offer.”
Aurier made 110 appearances for Spurs, including 77 in the Premier League. He also scored eight goals and 17 assists in his four years with the club.
He was, however, wildly inconsistent and could not always he trusted in the big games.
And with Japhet Tanganga starting the new season well, Royal signed up and Matt Doherty also still on board, Tottenham are now well covered in that position.
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Arsenal ready to sanction January deal
Meanwhile, Arsenal will turn their attention to securing a last-ditch January deal after the reason why a post-British window move fell through surfaced, per a report.
The Gunners splashed out around £140m on six new faces this summer. Japan international Takehiro Tomiyasu was the last of the new faces to arrive, with his introduction recently tipped to spark a much needed tactical change.
But who Arsenal attempted to offload was arguably just as intriguing as who they signed. Joe Willock and Willian both left on a permanent basis. Meanwhile a plethora of first-teamers including Reiss Nelson, Hector Bellerin and Matteo Guendouzi all departed via the loan route.
Recent reports have indicated the club had their sights set on sanctioning at least three more exits.
Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah were both for sale, though lofty demands prevented permanent exits in both cases.
And despite the British transfer window closing last week, interest in acquiring Mohamed Elneny emerged from Turkey. Besiktas and Galatasaray were both reported to be in the frame over permanent deals with the Turkish window open until September 8.
However, talkSPORT now claim deals with both Turkish sides have fallen through for the same reason.
They state Galatasaray president Burak Elmas ‘vetoed’ the move after the Egyptian midfielder ‘demanded a salary’ worth £2.15m per year.
That proved unworkable over the course of the proposed four-year deal and negotiations swiftly broke down. Besiktas’ deal has seemingly fallen through for the same reason.
Elneny, 29, is in the final year of his contract in North London. As such, it’s claimed Arsenal will attempt to move him on in January to prevent losing him for nothing.
READ MORE: Willian opens up on Arsenal exit after walking away from millions