The big-name deals that the Emirates Stadium side have apparently already been agreed.
Stevan Jovetic
Among a host of deals that have apparently already been agreed it is perhaps a move to bring Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic to the Emirates Stadium that has garnered the most attention.
A number of sources have quoted this as a ‘Done Deal’ with the Metro among a host of sources claiming that the 23 year old has all but completed his long awaited move to join the North London club.
A move for the Serie A striker will apparently cost Arsenal around £20m, though Fiorentina are said to be keen to haggle towards £25m.
Jovetic has scored 12 Serie A goals thus far this season but has managed just one in his last ten top tier appearances, which could suggest that his mind has been on other matters. Vincenzo Montella already has a replacement for the youngster with Giuseppe Rossi ready to fill the potential void.
Gonzalo Higuain
The Real Madrid man is said to have agreed terms on a move to Arsenal with Arsene Wenger ready to meet the Bernabeu side’s valuation, so say Spanish source Sport.es, a deal then confirmed by the Daily Express.
The North London club will stump up €22m (£18.6m) for the 25 year old and the Bernabeu striker has agreed terms on a five year contract with the Emirates Stadium side and therefore one would imagine this deal is all but done, at least according to this source.
Thus far this season the former River Plate man has been handed just 17 La Liga starts but has still managed to net 14 goals in Spain’s top tier. The French born striker moved to Real Madrid in December 2006 and has racked up 119 goals in 262 appearances for the Spanish giants.
Moves to bring in the pair would appear to leave the likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Park Chu-Young, Marouane Chamakh and potentially even Gervinho and Lukas Podolski wondering about their respective Arsenal careers.
Julio Cesar
The Brazilian is apparently set to sign for Arsenal with the Daily Mirror claiming that a move to the Emirates Stadium was the ‘most likely’ for the 33 year old with a deal ‘expected’ to be completed in the coming days.
Loftus Road owner Tony Fernandes is so keen to have Cesar’s £70k a week salary wiped off the balance sheet that he’s willing to let the former Inter Milan man leave on a free transfer.
Arsene Wenger may well feel the need to bring in a new custodian as Wojciech Szczesny has been less than assured between the sticks this term and Lukasz Fabianski is still to convince the Gunners boss of his worth as a first choice starter.
Despite QPR’s relegation Cesar has been a relatively successful signing for the West London side, notably keeping two clean sheets in fixtures against Chelsea. Prior to his move to the Premier League Cesar spent seven seasons at the San Siro, during which time he made 300 appearances and won five Serie A titles and a Champions League winners medal.
Yaya Sanogo
French source RMC stated that Arsenal have agreed terms on a pre-contract deal to sign Auxerre youngster Yaya Sanogo, this was then reported by the Metro.
The 20 year old has told his Ligue 2 side he wants to leave and is out of contract in matter of weeks and Arsenal will apparently fork out around £300k in the form of ‘training’ compensation to sign the in-form striker.
The 20-year-old has attracted a lot of attention from several of Europe’s big clubs following his prolific form for Ligue 2 side Auxerre, and at youth level for France, and it seems the Gunners have won the race for his signature.
Sanogo’s current contract with the French club expires in June, and he will be free to pen a four-year contract with Arsenal, making him the club’s first signing of the summer.
The youngster may not be the big name that many Arsenal fans are crying out for, and his recent record with injuries may also prove something of a concern, but manager Arsene Wenger has a good track record of unearthing young talent, particularly from his native France, and Sanogo looks like a player with great potential.
Sanogo has scored eight goals in 11 Ligue 2 appearances thus far this season, this despite the fact that Auxerre are languishing in mid-table.
David Villa
Arsenal have apparently agreed a pre-contract deal to sign the experienced striker according to respected Spanish source AS.
Arsene Wenger had initially hoped to bring in the former Valencia man to the Emirates Stadium in January but Villa had opted to fight for a regular berth in Tito Vilanova’s first team set-up but has continued to find himself out of the Barcelona manager’s starting eleven and is now ready to leave the Nou Camp.
Villa has been handed just 14 La Liga starts thus far this season but has still managed to net nine goals whilst the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Pedro have tended to get the nod ahead of the 31 year old marksman.
David Villa is the Spanish national team’s record goal-scorer and the striker is keen to retain a spot in Vicente del Bosque’s plans and as such needs to be playing regularly, this is of course all the more relevant given the 2014 World Cup finals are around the corner.
Villa has started just two of Spain’s last five World Cup qualifiers and knows that at his age he can afford to be wasting away on the bench and the allure of a new challenge in the English top tier appears to interest the Barcelona man.