It’s been a really dull January transfer window to say the least. Not just at the Emirates, but among the Premier League in general, it’s been mostly tumbleweeds and a lot of crickets chirping. However, we’ve got three Arsenal FC transfer narratives to discuss here, so let’s see if the club gets any of them over the line in time.
There are only four shopping days left in the window, so let’s dive right in, starting with 30 year-old striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. FC Barcelona are desperate to find a striker as a replacement for the injured Luis Suarez, and The Telegraph reports that Aubameyang could be that man.
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Arsenal definitely need a tear-it-down-to-the-studs-first and then start again fresh kind of rebuild; that much is clear. Selling Auba would certainly be a part of that, and given his age, this is the last time for the club to do so and actually get a good value on the sale.
However, the Catalan club may not be interested in meeting the Gunners asking price of £50 million plus; not with the player having just 18 months left on his deal. In other words, the two sides might be too far apart to actually make this happen in time.
Elsewhere various reports all across the world state that Atletico Madrid winger Thomas Lemar could be moving to the Emirates, possibly on a loan deal. The 24-year-old Frenchman is already odd man out in the Spanish capital, and with reports of Edinson Cavani arriving from Paris Saint-Germain, it’s not going to get any better. He’ll need an escape route for sure and the north London club could suffice.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hasn’t said much about his club’s transfer situation publicly this window, understandably so because the more you talk about potential transfer targets the more the price goes up, but he did say the club is 50/50 on adding new players this month.
The first player added could be Pablo Mari of Flamengo. He’s a centre half, and Arteta has been open about saying that’s the position they are most likely to upgrade at.
Sky Sports is reporting that the two clubs are in talks about a loan deal with an option to buy in the summer. The Spanish international is supposedly valued at £7.5 million. Football London has more on the 26-year-old at this link.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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