After a slow start to the summer transfer window, things are starting to happen at Arsenal where head coach Mikel Arteta is moulding a squad to launch another challenge for the Premier League title.
The Gunners have finished second to Manchester City over the past two seasons. In 2022/23, they set a record for spending the most time at the top of the table without winning the league, so Arteta will do everything in his power to make it third time lucky.
The Premier League 2024 betting odds say the Sky Blues will take some toppling, but if anyone can do it, Arsenal are the team to watch.
After the £27 million signing of keeper David Raya, who was so impressive on loan at the Emirates last term, Arsenal have just completed a second big signing, completing a deal to bring Italy centre-back Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna in a £42 million deal.
The Gunners have been working on this move for weeks, and both club and player are delighted to get it done. The 22-year-old, who attracted a lot of attention with his all-action displays and leadership qualities at Euro 2024, says he only had eyes for Arsenal, despite attention from the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus. Equally, the Gunners were impressed by Calafiori’s desire to come to North London.
“I spoke for almost two months with the coach and Edu,” said Calafiori on his arrival. They tried to convince me but I was already really convinced to come here. For me, it is the best project I can have as a player.”
Down in West London, SBOTOP partners Fulham are aiming to continue their progress under manager Marco Silva, and the Cottagers are inching ever closer to completing the signing of Arsenal academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe. The 24-year- old travelled with the Gunners to the USA for their pre-season preparations, but he has not featured and has left the tour to complete a medical with Fulham.
With three caps for England and 80 appearances for Arsenal, Smith Rowe is a top quality attacking midfielder, but chances are at a premium in a squad with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, and skipper Martin Odegaard in the fold.
He only played 346 minutes in the Premier League last season, so this could be a good time for Smith Rowe to move, still with his best years ahead of him.
A fee of £27 million that could go up to £34 million with add-ons could well represent good business for Silva, though it will be a record signing for the club.
But this is highly unlikely to be Fulham’s last piece of business in the window, and reports coming out of London suggest that once they have completed the Smith Rowe signing, they will turn their attention to Manchester United’s Scott McTominay, who Silva sees as a potential replacement for the departed midfield general Joao Palhinha.
Arteta looking for another goal threat
In other Premier League 2024 news, the Gunners are keeping tabs on former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane, now at Bayern Munich.
The Bavarians are undergoing some fairly big changes under new manager Vincent Kompany, who has already made the big money signings of Palhinha from Fulham and winger Michael Olise from Crystal Palace.
The arrival of the 22-year-old former Eagle is exciting for Bayern fans, but maybe not for Kompany’s former Manchester City teammate Sane, who could find game time harder to come by.
And reports in Germany say Arsenal are watching the situation closely. With Smith Rowe on his way out, Arteta is looking for another versatile forward and an upgrade if possible. Athletic Bilbao’s in-demand winger Nico Williams is on the Gunners’ radar, but then there is a long list of teams tracking Spain’s Euro 2024 hero.
So Sane, who joined the Bavarians in a £55 million deal in 2020, is a potential target and, at 28 years of age, he is in his prime.
Having scored 29 goals in 123 games for Die Bayern, he has enjoyed plenty of success in Munich, but in a fast-moving situation at both clubs, this may be a good time for him to move on.
Sane has just a year remaining on his deal, and he is an admirer of Arteta, having worked with the coach at the Etihad Stadium.
“He helped me a lot there,” said Sane of Arteta recently. “I improved a lot because of his ideas, be it positional or how I have to act in different situations.”
Sane could be a good fit for the Emirates, and this story might well have some legs.
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