Arsenal Football Club has made significant strides in the summer transfer window, agreeing on a fixed fee of £55 million for Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyokeres. Arsenal are still in negotiations over other aspects of the deal, especially bonus payments. At the same time, their manager, Mikel Arteta, has revealed that Martin Zubimendi has rejected two big-money opportunities to move to the north London club.
The transfer saga of Gyokeres illustrates perfectly Arsenal’s determination to strengthen their squad before the new season. Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing over add-ons, with Sporting SC reportedly holding out for an extra €10m (£8.7m). Arteta sounded pretty positive that they were going to get the transfer turned around very quickly.
Ongoing Negotiations
As Arsenal seeks to finalize its deal for Gyokeres, discussions continue regarding the structure of the transfer, particularly the bonus payments. The Gunners have apparently made the forward their top target. How exactly he would fit into their plans remains to be seen, but landing his services would dramatically increase their attacking options.
Arteta remarked on the complexities involved in transfer negotiations, stating, “There are a lot of parties and things that we have to bear in mind to get a player over the line and here. I’m very hopeful that we are going to do it very soon.”
Aside from Gyokeres, Arsenal are on the verge of sealing an initial £13 million deal for Valencia centre-back Cristhian Mosquera. The Gunners have been doing all they can to bolster their defensive ranks. This move is the cornerstone of their ambitious plan to dominate the summer transfer market.
Focus on Current Squad
Though the transfer window remains open and negotiations continue, Arteta was keen to focus on his happiness with the squad he has. All in all, Trestman sounded very encouraged at what he’s seen from the team in just the past week or so.
I think we are all very impressed with what we’ve seen in the last seven to ten days because once you have the player daily there and you see his character, you see his personality, his intelligence and how much it’s going to bring to the team, very excited about it,” said an unnamed source.
Arteta certainly sounded confident in the players Arsenal has brought in this summer. Those other new signings are Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Noni Madueke. The new manager was happy with how things turned out up to this point, adding that “I’m very pleased, that’s all I’ll say.”
The Pursuit of Zubimendi
Zubimendi chase was a years long pursuit by Arsenal. Including answers from Arteta, this was an insightful discussion how difficult it has been to recruit the right high-caliber players to their club.
That was a very, very arduous process,” he said. Zubimendi’s eventual decision to join Arsenal adds depth to their midfield options and underlines the club’s ambition in this transfer window.
Arteta is determined to keep his eyes on the long-term goal of improving his squad. Notably, he never speaks about players that aren’t yet Arsenal players. “I cannot comment on any player who is not part of our group yet,” he asserted.
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