Arsenal have been granted the go-ahead to sign Rodrygo from Real Madrid – but it comes at some significant cost.
The Gunners have been busy adding attacking talent to their ranks this summer, signing Noni Madueke as cover out wide and bringing in Viktor Gyokeres as a no.9 capable of challenging Kai Havertz.
But with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta still keen on an upgrade on the left-wing, Real Madrid star Rodrygo – ranked at no.6 in FourFourTwo's list of the best right wingers in the world right now – is a major target.
Real Madrid have accepted the conditions to which Rodrygo can join Arsenal – but Mikel Arteta won't be impressed
Last month, it was reported that the North Londoners had walked away from any potential deal for Rodrygo, over the complications of bringing such a high-earning player to the Emirates Stadium when other areas of the team needed improving.
Arsenal and Real Madrid have had plenty of shared business in recent seasons, with the Gunners signing captain Martin Odegaard from the Bernabeu, while Real have a long-standing interest in defensive stalwart, William Saliba, who has just two years remaining on his current contract in N5.
Putting two and two together, a report from Spanish outlet Defensa Central, as relayed by TEAMtalk, claims that Real have “agreed” to a potential scenario in which Rodrygo signs for Arsenal: you guessed it, William Saliba travels the other way.
While the Brazilian is seen as expendable in the Spanish capital, Saliba is very much regarded as a generational talent – and despite signing Dean Huijsen from under the noses of the Gunners earlier this summer, new manager Xabi Alonso would like to improve defensive stability, at the expense of childhood pal, Arteta.
FourFourTwo understands that there is simply no way that Saliba would be sacrificed for the “deal” to go ahead, with Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta currently working on a contract extension for the centre-back.
Regardless, swap deals in football are incredibly rare, given that the conditions of two players' transfers matching exactly is almost impossible – and while Real Madrid may value Rodrygo as of equal monetary value to Saliba, this is not be the case for Arsenal, who view the Frenchman as one of the most important players in their squad.
Arsenal have since moved on from pursuing a move for Rodrygo, with Crystal Palace star Ebere Eze a potential recruit this summer.
Rodrygo is worth €90m, as per Transfermarkt.
