Arsenal could steal Manchester United’s dream deal from Wolves due to the influence of Mikel Arteta.
According to The Sun, United are heavily interested in signing Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves in a £35m deal over the January transfer window.
The midfielder was instrumental in Wolves’ recent 1-0 victory over the Manchester side, which has put a major dent in Ralf Rangnick's push for Champions League qualification next season.
If Arsenal continues to hold the fourth spot in the Premier League, then the Gunners could steal Neves to create a dream midfield pivot with Thomas Partey and solve the ongoing midfield dilemma.
The north London side needs a top-quality midfielder who can maintain consistency, and relax the pressure that is towards the direction of Partey, who is tasked with leading the midfield.
Granit Xhaka is currently the preferred choice of player to sit alongside the Ghanian, however, he has shown on numerous occasions such as the red card and his penalty mistake against Manchester City, that he cannot be always be trusted.
Albert Sambi Lokonga will certainly be a future regular in the midfield for Arsenal, but he still needs time to adapt to the pace of the Premier League, whilst Ainsley Maitland-Niles is set to be loaned out to Italian side AS Roma.
Neves would be the perfect solution to Arsenal’s problems, as he is a composed midfielder who handles the basics excellently, and aside from an occasional marvelous free-kick, he is usually not the type of player to feature on a headline.
He has plenty of Premier League experience and has shown that he is capable of competing with the best clubs in the land, and would certainly improve the Arsenal midfield.
However, a deal for either Arsenal or Manchester United will not be plain sailing after his manager, Bruno Lage denied a potential sale of the midfielder.
He said: “Ruben feels this is his second home – and happiness comes with that.
“That’s good, but it’s another thing to convince him to stay. It’s not about a contract or money. It’s about creating a big team that fights for different things.” He added.
“Ruben is in that place where he needs a different challenge. And we also want a different challenge for the club.”
Despite Lage’s comments, Arsenal should not take discouragement from this as Neves only has two years left remaining on his contract, meaning Wolves will need to sell him if they want to avoid potentially losing him on a free transfer next summer.
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