Arsenal rival Tottenham for forward transfer as club could relish summer bidding war

Arsenal are reportedly looking set to join a long list of clubs eyeing up the potential transfer of Besiktas wonderkid Semih Kilicsoy in the summer.

The talented 18-year-old forward continues to catch the eye with his performances this season, and it seems Arsenal are now alongside Tottenham and a host of other big names from around Europe in monitoring him.

That’s according to a report from Turkish outlet Sabah, as cited and translated by Sport Witness, who state that Arsenal have scouted Kilicsoy, along with their north London rivals Spurs, and top European sides like Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Napoli.

Kilicsoy looks like he has a big future in the game and it will be intriguing to see who ends up making the best offer for him this summer, with the report suggesting Besiktas would welcome a bidding war for their highly-rated young talent.

Kilicsoy transfer – which of Arsenal and Tottenham look the more likely destination?

Arsenal probably don’t need to strengthen as much as Spurs do, with Mikel Arteta’s side challenging for the title and possible contenders for the Champions League as well, while Ange Postecoglou is still in an earlier phase of building his squad at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

An exciting prospect like Kilicsoy could be ideal to help Postecoglou get his THFC project off the ground, but the player himself may well end up favouring Arsenal if they do decide to step up their interest.

Arsenal are perhaps now in a position where they can compete for bigger names and more ready-made players like Declan Rice, but at the same time they’ve always been a club who emphasise bringing in young talent and giving players like this the opportunity to develop and become big names in their own right by becoming first-teamers at the Emirates Stadium.