Arsenal’s season is now beginning to take shape after a summer in which several additions were made to Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Those new arrivals have settled in well, with Gabriel Magalhaes and Thomas Partey impressing early in their Arsenal careers.
But there is always room for improvement, and attention will soon turn towards the January transfer window.
With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at the latest Arsenal transfer rumours.
Aouar still dreaming of the Premier League
Arsenal target Houssem Aouar still has his sights set on the Premier League, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The Lyon midfielder was repeatedly linked with a switch to the Emirates throughout the summer.
A move didn’t materialise, although the Gunners may have been given some fresh hope.
“[Aouar] is in love with the Premier League, so let’s see what Arsenal will decide,” Romano told the Here We Go podcast.
“What I’m told is that Arsenal are looking to sign this kind of player. They were looking [at] Aouar, they are now considering the situation of Dominik Szoboszlai.
“The situation is that Arsenal [have been] following Szoboszlai [for] years. So, let’s see what will happen next summer or January, but Arsenal are following the player.”
Lyon statement on Aouar situation
Lyon general manager Vincent Ponsot has revealed Arsenal offered “below the market value” for Aouar in the summer.
The 22-year-old was believed to be the club’s top target throughout the transfer window. And Ponsot has explained how Arsenal approached negotiations with Lyon.
“We had three big clubs for him. The first one was more for next season,” he told L’Equipe.
“The second one was related to the departure of a player, and with this club, we could have come to an agreement. The third club was Arsenal, who offered below the market value.
“We discussed it with the player’s entourage, and together we took the decision to say no.”
How Arsenal helped Liverpool land Jota
Arsenal’s deal to sign Nicolas Pepe last year may have influenced Liverpool in their negotiations to bring Diogo Jota to the club from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Gunners became one of the first clubs to spread a big-money deal over several installments, with only £20 million of the £72 million deal paid upfront.
Amid concerns over the potential financial impact of coronavirus, Liverpool did a similar thing with the £41m signing of Jota, who only cost an initial £4m.
“Arsenal became the first to really push through a massive deal and spread over a period of time like they did when they signed Nicolas Pepe, and that was before coronavirus was even a concern,” one former Premier League agent told the Liverpool Echo.
“They were able to sign a player for over £70m and spread that payment, their transfer spend for that particular deal being booked as £20m or so in that financial year. They were buying from a smaller club, where the player's value was at it's highest for that particular club.”
