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Mikel Arteta is once again eyeing a raid on his old club and targeting a move for a wantaway Manchester City star.
Arsenal’s spending will edge towards the £100 million mark once they confirm they have agreed a deal to sign Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino.
With a further £70m having been spent on David Raya and Riccardo Calafiori, Arsenal had been prepared to head into the new campaign relying on last season’s strike force.
Pep Guardiola’s pointed comments on the future of Julian Alvarez, however, could yet seen the north London club test the waters.
Argentina international Alvarez has already spoken this summer of his desire to play a more prominent role at City where he has been forced to play second fiddle to Erling Haaland for the majority of his two years at the Etihad Stadium.
‘No news. I don’t have any news,’ said Guardiola when asked for an update on Alvarez’s future ahead of the final game of City’s pre-season tour of America.
Guardiola continued: ‘Look, Julian (Alvarez) deserves now to take his time what he needs, to come back clean. Not just in the legs – the people say it’s the legs – it’s especially stuff here (in the mind).
‘Because playing every three days in front of 65, 70,000 people, or 50, 55,000 people is so exhausting; for the responsibility, to do well. And any one of us, in front of 65,000 (people), you don’t want to perform bad.
‘And it demands a lot, a lot of energy, not just physicality, the people don’t understand it. And that’s why they need breaks, and that’s why they need holidays and they couldn’t come here. The fans would love it, I would love it, but the players need rest.’
Were they to allow Alvarez a move, The Mirror reports that City would demand a fee in the region of £80m, plus add-ons, that would likely be too steep for Arsenal at this point in the window.
The north London club’s transfer kitty was bolstered to the tune of £27m on Friday following confirmation of Emile Smith Rowe’s move to Fulham, but Eddie Nketiah’s big-money transfer to Marseille has hit a snag.
An offer of £24m fell some way short of Arsenal’s asking price earlier this week and the Ligue 1 club have since switched their attention to alternative targets and have agreed a loan deal with Borussia Dortmund for Youssoufa Moukoko.
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