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Update on Arsenal’s attempts to sign £100m duo as Arteta continues spending spree

By on August 9, 2021

Arsenal have splashed out over £70m on Ben White, Nuno Tavares and Albert Lokonga so far this summer but we still have a lot of work to do before the transfer window closes and it looks like Mikel Arteta is looking to strengthen his attacking options over the coming weeks. Here, we look at updates on Arsenal’s attempts to sign James Maddison and Tammy Abraham…

Slow progress with Maddison

Arsenal are in desperate need of a creative midfielder to replace Martin Odegaard and while we still haven’t given up all hope of re-signing the Real Madrid star, Maddison has emerged as a prime target in recent weeks.

According to football.london, Arteta is a big admirer of the 24-year-old’s and is targeting a move for him this summer after making the England international his top target for the No.10 role.

However, while Maddison is keen on a move to north London, the report says negotiations with Leicester City have been ‘very slow’ and Arsenal are still someway short of meeting their £60m valuation.

With progress so slow, football.london says Arsenal’s technical director Edu is exploring cheaper options in-case a deal for Maddison cannot be agreed after Leicester rejected the idea of taking players in exchange to reduce our financial outlay.

Odegaard remains a target and the report says Madrid are open to selling the Norwegian international if the price is right. The 22-year-old would be considerably cheaper than Maddison so I wouldn’t rule out a move for the Madrid man over the coming weeks.

Battle for Abraham

Arsenal are also reportedly in the market for another striker as goals have been hard to come by over the past 18 months and Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham has been strongly linked recently.

The England international has fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge and is set to fall even further down the pecking order with Romelu Lukaku set to sign for Chelsea from Inter Milan.

The Express reported at the end of July that Arsenal were prepared to meet Abraham’s £6.5m-a-year wage demands but are reluctant to pay Chelsea’s £40m asking price for the player.

Now, Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio claims that Arsenal will face stiff competition for Abraham’s signature with Roma and Atalanta also eyeing a move for the Chelsea front-man.

Roma are looking for a new striker as Edin Dzeko is tipped to replace Lukaku at Inter and Jose Mourinho apparently wants Abraham. So a striker merry-go-round between Chelsea and the two Italian clubs could see Arsenal miss out.

Any move for a new forward is dependent on Arsenal being able to sell Alexandre Lacazette and/or Eddie Nketiah so there is lots of work to be done before we’re to be in a position to move for Abraham.

I fully expect Arsenal to be extremely active in the market over the next few weeks but it looks like it will cost us around £100m to sign Maddison and Abraham. Would that be money well spent? I’m not convinced, but they’d certainly strengthen the squad.

Let’s see what Edu and Arteta can do…..

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