Emirates Stadium side set for busy summer.
Arsenal have reportedly reached agreement on a fee for Fiorentina striker Stevan Jovetic, said to be in the region of €31m (£26m), and aspersonal terms with the player are said to have already been reached it seems only a matter of time before a deal will be completed.
Arsene Wenger has been tracking the Montenegro striker for the best part of six months and has been given the go ahead from the Gunners board to meet the Serie A side’s valuation having already been handed an expansive transfer war-chest.
Some sources claim that the Arsenal boss will be given as much as £70m to invest in new additions to improve his squad as the North London side look to bring an end to an eight year silverware drought.
Wenger is keen to strengthen his attack and feels that Jovetic is in the best form of his career to date and will hope that the young forward can adapt well to life in the Premier League after five seasons in Italy.
The former Partizan Belgrade man played in a variety of attacking spot in his first couple of seasons at the Stadio Artemio Franchi but over the past two seasons he has been used exclusively up front and a return of 26 goals in 53 starts shows that it’s a position he thrives in.
Montella has already brought in a long term replacement for Jovetic in the form of former Man United and Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi, who Fiorentina were happy to sign in January despite the 26 year old still being sidelined with a long term knee injury.
To help cover the cost of his summer spending and to prevent Arsenal’s wage bill spiraling out of control Arsene Wenger is looking to trim his playing staff and could be ready to offload as many as 12 first team players in the summer transfer window.
Andrei Arshavin and Sebastien Squillaci are the first to leave, with neither playing being offered a new contract with their current deals coming to a close at the end of the current campaign.
Wenger will look to offload loaned out stars Andre Santos, Johan Djourou, Marouane Chamakh, Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson and Park Chu Young on a permanent basis and is willing to accept greatly reduced fees just to have their large salaries wiped off the balance sheet.
Injury prone midfielder Abou Diaby could be made available for sale though interest could be thin on the ground given the French midfielder is in the middle of another lengthy lay-off. Tomas Rosicky could be sacrificed and is considered by Wenger as only a bit-part player and his future at the club will be directly tied into whether the Arsenal boss brings in another central midfielder.
Though he has been in good form in recent months Lukasz Fabianski could also be sold as Wenger continues to show faith in young Pole Wojciech Szczesny.
Bacary Sagna‘s lengthy contract talks have yet to bear fruit and his appalling display against Man United is said to have angered Wenger and could lead to his long awaited sale, with PSG said to be interested.
Ivory Coast forward Gervinho has had an up and down time of it during his two seasons at the club and much like Rosicky, if Arsene Wenger brings in another forward he may well feel he can afford to cash in on the 25 year old, who is said to have caught the eye of Turkish giants Galatasaray.
His return of 11 goals in 61 appearances hardly being spectacular could see him sold if the right offer is made.