Aston Villa look set to sign Norwich midfielder Emi Buendia after producing a club record transfer offer for the 24-year-old.
Buendia, who scored 15 goals and claimed 17 assists to help the Canaries lift the Championship title this season, is considered as one of the most creative players currently playing in England, as proven by his impressive statistics.
The Argentina international has been on the Gunners' radar since as far back as December, with the club understood to be a huge admirer of his talents.
football.london takes a look at Arsenal's interest in Buendia, whether the interest was genuine and what will happen next.
Did Arsenal really want him?
Sources involved in the deal have told football.london that Arsenal were ‘seriously’ interested in Buendia and launched a bid for him on Wednesday.
It’s unclear whether the Gunners launched a second bid, but what is certain is that Aston Villa produced a better offer to the Buendia camp which showed the Argentine a clear pathway on how he will be utilised at Villa Park next season.
However, Martin Odegaard remains the main target this summer and technical director Edu remains convinced that he can reach a deal with Real Madrid, whether it be a loan extension or a permanent move.
“We have a very clear and strong opinion on what we would like to do,” said manager Mikel Arteta when asked about keeping Odegaard.
“He’s not our player. We will have discussions in the next few weeks. And respect first of all because he’s a Real Madrid player, and we will have those communications.
“We’ve tried to make everything that we could to get Martin performing for the team, which I think he’s done.
“And he’s adapted really well to our way of playing and to our football club. And hopefully we have given him as well the hope and the feeling that it could be a good place for him.”
Why is Buendia joining Aston Villa?
It’s worth noting that Buendia has the same agent as Emi Martinez, and both players are close friends with their families intertwined.
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Martinez played a huge role in selling the Villa project to Buendia, while director of football Johan Lange also made it clear that Buendia is Villa's number one target this summer.
When asked why Buendia accepted Villa’s offer, a source close to the player replied: “we’re working on his best future" and confirmed that the players "wants" to join Dean Smith's side.
When will Arsenal sign players?
Arteta has already confirmed that it is likely Arsenal will do the bulk of their business after Euro 2020 finishes.
Much of the leg work has already been made in the build up to the opening of the transfer window on Wednesday.
Intermediaries have been contacted and there is a sense among those within football that Arsenal want to go about their business 'quietly' this summer.
It's also evident that players will be sold in the coming weeks, with the likes of Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira all edging closer to leaving the club.
What next for Arsenal?
There have been murmurings that Arsenal are planning to do their business in a similar fashion to January, where they kept the signing of goalkeeper Mat Ryan under wraps until the final few hours before completing the deal.
Arsenal had an offer rejected for Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar last summer, although there is no indication that they will go back there in the coming weeks.
Ruben Neves has been linked but those reports appear to be agent-led, while Arsenal have longstanding interest in Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma who is keen on joining the club this summer.
Bissouma has instructed his agent Michael N’Cho that he wants to join the Gunners, but as of today no formal offer or contact has been made with Brighton.
With the transfer window set to open on Wednesday June 9, Edu and head of football operations Richard Garlick will attempt to solve a number of key issues this summer.
