Second Arsenal transfer target emerges as Gunners close in on £51m deal
Premier League runners-up Arsenal have a busy summer ahead of them as Mikel Arteta looks to make the additions needed to compete for the title again next season
Arsenal's busy summer is already getting into gear as Mikel Arteta seeks improvement after an injury-impacted season. The Gunners were able to secure another second-place finish in the Premier League, but their points tally dropped off significantly compared to the previous two campaigns.
There are clear areas of focus as we approach the opening of the transfer window. One of these is up front, where injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus left Arteta short of options at a key point in the season.
A new deep-lying midfielder is also a priority, whether or not Thomas Partey sticks around. Martin Zubimendi looks like being that man, and we'll have the latest on the Spain international in today's round-up.
Arteta is set to lose a couple of fringe players, too. Kieran Tierney is on his way back to Celtic and Jorginho is Flamengo-bound, while Neto and Raheem Sterling will return to their parent clubs after a season on loan in North London.
We've also got the latest on some of the Gunners' other transfer targets, with potential to bolster the squad in all areas. Here are Mirror Football 's latest lines from around the Emirates Stadium.
Zubimendi on his way, Sane next?
Arsenal have met Martin Zubimendi's release clause, with a £51million move now looking to be a matter of time. They won't stop there, though, with Leroy Sane remaining a target.
Sane worked with Mikel Arteta at Manchester City and is believed to remain on good terms with the Spaniard. He is out of contract at Bayern Munich this summer, though the German champions haven't fully given up on convincing him to stick around.
According to The Times, Sane's agent was due to meet with Bayern on Wednesday. The winger's new offer is thought to be on a lower base wage than his current deal but with bonuses included.
Man Utd keen on Arsenal-linked Garcia
Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia has long been linked with Arsenal, but the Gunners appear reluctant to meet his £21million release clause. That may leave the door open for fellow suitors Barcelona, but they aren't the only ones in the mix.
According to Caught Offside, Manchester United are readying a late bid to bring in Garcia as they look to offload at least one keeper this summer. Barcelona remain in the hunt, though, as do Newcastle United, while the Spaniard could yet end up staying put.
"I'm very calm, and whatever decision needs to be made, I'll definitely think it over a lot with my people and choose what will be best for me. And I'm sure it will be like that," Garcia recently said when asked about leaving Espanyol for their local rivals.
Arsenal told what they're getting with Zubimendi
A former team-mate of Martin Zubimendi has assured rsenal they are getting a great person as well as a great footballer. The midfielder looks to finally get his move to the Premier League after sunning Liverpool interest to stay with Real Sociedad last summer.
"He was always a very complete player," Benoit Cachenaut, who came through the ranks with Zubimendi at La Real, told Sky Sports. "Technical, quick, intelligent, potent.
"You could already see he had everything to get to the highest level. But as well as being very good on the pitch, he was a very humble guy, always smiling, always very friendly."
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Arne Slot breaks golden Jurgen Klopp transfer rule by doing something he avoided
It took Arne Slot just two summer transfer windows at Liverpool to blow predecessor Jurgen Klopp out of the water in regards to transfer spend following the acquisition of Florian Wirtz Liverpool manager Arne Slot is making up for lost time this summer after opening the transfer floodgates at Anfield. And it has taken the Dutchman just a few weeks to break the rule predecessor Jurgen Klopp sought to adhere to above all others in the market. Klopp, 58, previously made a point of stressing his morals when it came to keeping Liverpool financially solvent. And that meant not necessarily spending on a par with the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United, who copped criticism from the former Reds boss for their free-spending ways in the past. Of course that changed over time as Liverpool made allowances in opening their chequebook so Klopp could compete. But the German was staunchly against spending £100million fees on individuals when he first arrived at Anfield – a line Liverpool have now crossed with the blockbuster signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a British record deal worth up to £116m, with £100m of that being guaranteed. "If you bring one player in for £100m or whatever and he gets injured then it all goes through the chimney," Klopp warned back in 2016 after United forked out £89m to re-sign Paul Pogba from Juventus. "The day that this is football, I'm not in a job any more, because the game is about playing together. "That is why somebody invented passes so these players can play together. It's not about running with the ball because you can do it all the time. Building the group is not my unique idea – it is necessary to be successful in football. "Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players, yes. Do I have to do it differently to that? I don't know exactly how much money we could spend because nobody has told me up to this point, 'No, no, no you can't do this.' "If I spend money it is because I am trying to build a real team. You can win championships, you can win titles. But maybe there is a manner in which you want it. It is about how it is." The Merseysiders have added 22-year-old Wirtz to their armoury and could have to shell out as much as £116m if certain conditions are met. And that addition means Liverpool have now spent more money in this window than any other in their history to date. Slot recruited Jeremie Frimpong (also from Leverkusen) for £29.5m earlier in the summer, while goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has joined from Valencia for an initial £25m, along with £4m in add-ons – with that deal agreed last summer counting towards their 2025 spending. Not only that, but a £40m move for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is also in the pipeline. Provided the Kerkez deal goes through as expected, that would take Liverpool's total spend this summer to roughly £215m (providing all bonus clauses are met). And despite the fact the transfer window has been open for less than one month, that would far eclipse the previous record for total spend in any other window. The closest Klopp came to matching that sum was in the summer of 2018 when he spent around £170m on new signings. That included Alisson from Roma (£65m), Naby Keita from RB Leipzig (£53m), Fabinho from Monaco (£39m) and Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke (£13.5m), though the investments paid off as they won the Champions League that season. Eventually, Klopp wasn't too far from overseeing a couple of nine-digit deals himself, considering Liverpool signed Virgil van DIjk and Darwin Nunez for £75m and £85m, respectively. Van Dijk became the most expensive defender in football history at the time of his move from Southampton, and Klopp later walked back his comments concerning exorbitant transfer fees. "These kind of things happen. When you want to sign a striker as exciting as Darwin is, that's the market and you have to pay the price," he conceded in 2023. "I said so many things in my life and life caught me then later and showed me that my imagination was obviously not clear enough for how quickly life can change. That's how it is. "After that [comment about Pogba], we bought a centre-half for quite a decent fee [£75m for Van Dijk], we bought a goalie for quite a decent fee [Alisson]. Our situation is always the same, we try to level it somehow [with sales], the things we invest in the boys and in the players we sell, it's kind of that it's not going out of any kind of range and that worked so far, but I know, I heard it immediately." To Slot's credit, he won the Premier League in his debut campaign despite barely spending at all last summer. It's only fair that one, therefore, takes into account that spread of cost, which brings his net spend to a more modest £100m or so per summer window so far.
Scottish Sun
42 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Harry Kane breaks Argentine hearts as Bayern win over Boca Juniors puts best supported team on verge of World Cup exit
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WHO else but Harry Kane to help break the hearts of 60,000 Argies? The England skipper was at his lethal best in Miami last night, rifling in a trademark finish on 18 minutes to silence the vast majority of a packed Hard Rock Stadium. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Harry Kane opened his Club World Cup account in Miami Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 3 Boca Juniors fans were in fine voice at Hard Rock Stadium Credit: Getty Miguel Merentiel's brilliant 66th minute leveller sparked wild scenes of celebration. But with just five minutes remaining, you could almost hear a pin drop as former Crystal Palace ace Michael Olise was teed up by Kane before sliding home the winner to stun the South Americans. It puts the phenomenally supported Boca Juniors on the brink of an embarrassing premature Club World Cup exit - and the fact it was an Englishman who sent them hurtling towards an early flight home will surely have increased their pain. Boca certainly brought the noise - the atmosphere was absolutely tremendous - but Bayern had the clinical efficiency needed to cement their place in the Club World Cup knockout stages. WATCH EVERY MATCH OF THE CLUB WORLD CUP 2025 LIVE ON DAZN And, of course, it was King Kane who set the German champs on their way with his 39th goal of the season. The equally impressive Kingsley Coman set the former Tottenham hitman free, and the left-foot finish was typically razor sharp. Vincent Kompany's men should have been home and hosed by half-time - Olise had a ninth minute effort chalked off before he almost rounded Boca keeper Agustin Marchesin on 31 minutes to increase Bayern's lead. Manuel Neuer was finally called into action on 34 minutes, fisting away Kevin Zenon's close range effort, yet the German powerhouse were in firm control. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 3 Michael Olise scored Bayern's second on the night Credit: AP Miami boasts a huge Argentinian community while thousands had also flown in from Buenos Aires to see their heroes in yellow and blue mix it with the European giants. Their fans were incredible. Yet no matter how loud they sang, it wasn't enough to push them over the line. Harry Kane enjoys makeshift ice bath in WHEELIE BIN after 10-0 Bayern Munich rout in Club World Cup opener All looked lost. But then, almost out of nowhere, Merentiel powered in on goal, coolly flicked the ball past center-back Josip Stanisic and sweetly curled in to spark absolute mayhem in the stands. Boca believed. Hard Rock Stadium was bouncing. Yet the excellent Olise, set up by the tireless Kane, had the last laugh with his neatly taken 85th minute winner. While Bayern - who smashed 10 goals past hapless Auckland City in the first game with Kane somehow not on the scoresheet - booked their place in the last 16, Boca now need to beat the Kiwis heavily on Tuesday and hope Benfica are downed by the Germans. Kane reckons his Bundesliga champions are one of the teams to beat here and said: "It's a massive tournament, we're playing against the best teams in the world. We've always said it's us against us. "We have to compete to our highest level and we should be able to beat most teams. So far, so good in this competition."
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Nuno Espirito Santo signs new contract but Nottingham Forest appear to make gaffe in statement announcing it
The 51-year-old has inked a new three-year deal at the City Ground CONTRACT CALAMITY Nuno Espirito Santo signs new contract but Nottingham Forest appear to make gaffe in statement announcing it Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NOTTINGHAM FOREST appeared to make a major gaffe in their announcing of Nuno Espirito Santo's new contract. Forest, surprisingly, announced a new deal for their Portuguese gaffer early on Saturday morning. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Nuno Espirito Santo has been handed a new deal by Nottingham Forest Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK 4 The 51-year-old has inked a new three-year deal at the City Ground Credit: PA 4 Forest made a gaffe in their official statement announcing Nuno's new deal Credit: NOTTINGHAM FOREST The former Porto and Spurs boss has inked a new three-year deal at the City Ground, although you wouldn't have known it if you looked at the Midlands club's website. Eagle-eyed fans spotted that Forest had mistakenly stated that Nuno inked an "x-year deal" in their statement announcing the new contract. A snippet of the club's official statement read: "Nottingham Forest is delighted to announce that Nuno Espírito Santo has signed a new contract with the Club. "The Forest Head Coach has been handed a new x-year deal by owner Evangelos Marinakis ahead of the 2025/26 campaign." Nuno, 51, is over the moon to have extended his stay at the City Ground, which is set to host UEFA Conference League football this coming season. He said: "I am delighted to be able to continue our journey at this fantastic football Club. 'Since we arrived at Forest, we have worked extremely hard to create a special bond between the players, the fans and everyone at the Club, which helped us achieve great things last season. "I would like to thank our owner, Mr. Marinakis, for his constant support and backing. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 4 "It is important to me to share a strong relationship with our ownership and we have thoroughly enjoyed working together ever since I arrived at Forest. 'Now is the time to work harder than ever as we strive for more special memories together.' Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis sends fans bold Champions League prediction Marinakis said of the new deal: "Nuno has made a great impact and performed very well during his time with us so far. 'He has demonstrated that he maximises player performance and is an expert at developing players, whilst also embedding our young talent into the first team set-up. 'We enjoy a strong and solid relationship together and, above all, we share the same dream and ambition of writing a new history for Nottingham Forest, competing in the Premier League and in Europe and winning trophies for our great club!' Forest will kick off their Premier League season on Saturday, August 17, away to Brighton. The Tricky Trees will play the first leg of their Conference League play-off on August 21.
