It’s likely that it could be a case of selling players before any new arrivals come in at Arsenal this summer, but one of the main priorities is finding a midfield partner for Thomas Partey.
Granit Xhaka is a good player but he’s not reliable and he’s not good enough to play for a club that has genuine top-four ambitions, so it does look like a good decision to offload him to Roma:
#Xhaka steps away from #Roma, total agreement with Arsenal is very close. The objective is to close before weekend.@ASRomaPress pic.twitter.com/WVDzW8snTl
— John Solano (@Solano_56) June 8, 2021
While that move hasn’t been completely finalised yet, it’s been mooted for a few weeks and it is expected that Xhaka will link up with Jose Mourinho next season.
That also means that a replacement needs to come in, and a report from Todofichajes has indicated that an agreement is already in place to sign Ruben Neves from Wolves for around £40m.
It’s suggested that the player is very keen to make the move and it will be a four-year deal that sees him increase his salary, but he also looks like he could be a definite upgrade on Xhaka.
The Swiss midfielder may bring more aggression to his game but Neves is a more composed player who should provide a solid base next to Partey in the midfield, while he also has a better range of passing and he’s good for a few goals from distance too.
Neves is also only 24 years old and he comes with Premier League experience so it looks like a safe signing, and it should be one that improves Arsenal if it goes ahead.
Imagine if AFC should sign Bissouma & pair him with Partey. What a double pivot it will be, 2 rugged looking guys after you. Reminds me of the VIERA- G. SILVA combo.
If Arsenal is gonna to do a player plus cash deal it should be 20m +lLorenzo Pellegrini a good replacement for Xhaka
These rumours do not fill me with much confidence if the price is set at 40M don’t mess about buy him then sell Xhaka for 20M come on we must have 40 M in reserves what about the Kroenkes backing up the manager we have no time to waste! unbelievably frustrating I am fuming right now!😠😠