Arsenal are interested in Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko and are expected to make a formal bid for the player.
Citi is believed to be open to doing business in Zinchenko if the valuation is met. The 25-year-old can cover a variety of positions, including left-back and central midfield.
Arsenal are in search of a left-sided defender and have been trying to sign Lisandro Martinez, who has moved from Ajax to Manchester United.
City, meanwhile, are keen to sign a left-back and remain interested in Brighton’s Marc Cucurella. sky sports news revealed in June.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a very successful first season in the Premier League after joining from Getafe last summer on a deal worth around £15million.
Brighton do not want Cucurella to leave, and given that he has four years left on his contract with Amex, it would take a huge offer for them to sell.
Versatile and dependable, why Zinchenko fits Arsenal’s demands
Sky Sports football journalist Sam Blitz said:
“Miquel Arteta was looking to add a left-back and central midfielder in this summer’s transfer window. The Gunners wanted Ajax’s Lisandro Martinez. Leicester City’s Yuri Tielemans. has also attracted attention, but that interest has cooled in recent weeks.
“There is a reason the Arsenal manager needs support in that role. Left-back Kieran Tierney has suffered a long-term injury in key moments in the last two seasons. However, the young Portuguese full-back struggled in big moments, falling behind Cedric Soares and Granito Xhaka in the left-back pecking order at the end of the season.
“In midfield, Xhaka is a mainstay in Arteta’s squad, but there is little competition for his specific role. Thomas Parthi, Mohamed Elneny and Albert Sambi Lokonga are all in Arsenal’s midfield base. They are competing for the same position, leaving Xhaka in the No. 8 role.
“If he plays in midfield, Zinchenko will compete with Xhaka at Arsenal. If you look closely at their respective heatmaps from last season, you can see the two playing in the same area of the pitch. The Ukrainian played at left back and the Arsenal man operated from midfield.
“For the ball, Zinchenko’s passing stats are better than Xhaka’s, but that’s not surprising given that Guardiola’s City have kept the ball and are using it better than Arsenal. Zinchenko and City did well last year. Despite having less defense than Arsenal in the summer of 2018, the Ukraine national team’s defensive statistics showed Zinchenko winning more tackles, interceptions and aerial challenges than the Swiss midfielder.
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Arsenal concedes defeat to Manchester United in pursuit of Lisandro Martinez
Manchester United are in the final stages of a deal with Ajax over Lisandro Martinez, with Arsenal conceding defeat in their bid to sign the Argentina international.
The 24-year-old has said he would like to reunite with Eric ten Haag and has signed a £45m deal.
If all goes according to United’s wishes, Martinez will have to link up with the team on a pre-season tour in Australia.
Jesus scores 90 seconds into Arsenal debut
Gabriel Jesus, who made the same move as Zinchenko this summer, clocked 90 seconds in his first game for Arsenal and doubled to help the Gunners win a 5-3 friendly victory over German second division FC Nuremberg. I helped.
The Brazilian striker made an immediate impact as he scored high over the net from a pass by Ainsley Maitland-Niles at half-time in Germany, which the Gunners lost 2-0.
Then Mohamed Erneny hit a wonder strike to equalize for Mikel Arteta’s side before Nuremburg’s own goals from Christopher Schindler and Tim Handwerker gave them a 4–2 advantage.
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