Arsenal transfers: Fabrizio Romano confirms Edu ‘in contact’ over huge Man City swoop for Gundogan ally

Trusted journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Arsenal are in talks over the signing of one of Ilkay Gundogan’s Manchester City team-mates, while they also remain in the race to land the German midfielder.

Gundogan is currently weighing up his options after helping City to win an incredible treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. Mikel Arteta is trying to convince the Citizens captain to move to the Emirates and Per Mertesacker, Arsenal’s head of academy, recently confirmed they are interested in him.

Earlier this week, reports in Spain claimed Gundogan would decide his next club imminently. However, such an announcement has yet to be made, leaving the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund waiting.

Barca are confident about winning the race for Gundogan. They think the fact they have offered him a three-year contract, rather than City’s two-year deal, should convince the player to join them.

Gundogan is not the only City star Arsenal are eyeing up, as they are also in the frame to bring full-back Joao Cancelo to the Emirates.

On June 7, German outlet Kicker suggested Cancelo could be available for a significant discount. When joining Bayern on loan, City included a £61.5m buy option in the deal. But now, City are open to selling him for just £43m.

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On Saturday, a report from Football Transfers claimed talks between Arsenal and Cancelo over personal terms were ‘progressing positively’. They added that Arsenal are set to submit a £35m offer ‘in the coming days’.

Writing on Twitter, Romano has now provided his information on the 29-year-old’s future. He reveals that City ‘want to find a solution’ for Cancelo and have therefore made him ‘available on the transfer market’.

Arsenal, Barca vying for two Man City players

The Italian journalist then confirmed that Arsenal chief Edu has been ‘in contact’ with Cancelo’s entourage to discuss a potential contract. However, Romano does not provide any update on whether that supposed £35m bid is imminent.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, they are not alone in pursuing the player. Romano adds that Barca have ‘strong interest’ in him as well. This means the two clubs will fight it out over both Cancelo and Gundogan.

Arteta is on the hunt for a new left-back as Kieran Tierney is expected to move on. The Scot has lost his starting spot to Oleksandr Zinchenko and does not want to sit on the bench at this stage of his career. Arsenal are willing to consider offers for Tierney, with Newcastle and Aston Villa among those keeping tabs on the situation.

Arteta’s priority though is to bolster his midfield, which explains the pursuit of Gundogan. Arsenal would love to sign Declan Rice from West Ham too and have just launched their opening offer for him. However, various sources have reported that this has been turned down.

Meanwhile, Jamie Carragher has urged Manchester United to ruin a major Arsenal signing by taking a top player to Old Trafford.