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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Victor

Mikel Arteta has two problems in way of Joao Cancelo transfer as worrying details emerge

Joao Cancelo's proposed move to Arsenal might not be as straightforward as hoped, with questions being asked over a swoop for the Manchester City man.

Cancelo has spent the second half of the season on loan at Bayern Munich after seeing his stock fall at the Etihad Stadium. Premier League champions City appear prepared to let the Portugal international move on, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is said to be a fan.

City are also exploring a swap deal with Bayern, which would see Joshua Kimmich move to Manchester. And there are two other big reasons why that might end up being a better arrangement for those involved.

According to The Telegraph, there are fears in the Arsenal camp that City might not be prepared to sell them a third player in two years. Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko moved to North London last summer and played a big part in Arsenal's title push before Pep Guardiola's side eventually hauled them in.

The other issue concerns Cancelo's first-team demands after reports from The Athletic shed more light on his mid-season departure. Reports suggest his application in training was "off" after the World Cup, and he was allowed to leave after complaining about Rico Lewis taking his spot in the team.

Arsenal have been in need of defensive depth, with injuries to William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu exposing their limitations during the run-in. However, questions may be asked over whether Cancelo would be a starter every week in this Gunners side.

Will Joao Cancelo start next season at Arsenal? Have your say in the comments section

Joao Cancelo has been spending the second half of the season on loan at Bayern Munich (Frank Hoermann / SVEN SIMON/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

"First of all congratulations to Manchester City for winning the championship but it is a sad day for us," Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told The BBC after his team's defeat at the City Ground. "Now we have to face the reality, today we gave a goal away and we were not good enough to break them down.

"We could play for three hours and we would not have done it. It is my responsibility and I take it. When it is beautiful great, when it isn't, that is sport. The number of goals we have given to the opponents recently has cost us but we can't put the guilt on someone.

"We should have been better as a team and in the last few weeks we have fallen short. This is football. It is a very sad day, we have been working for 11 months with that aim and have been on top for so many days. We have competed but we didn't have enough. Now we must heal. It is very painful. I have to find a way to lift the players and we have a tough week ahead of us."

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