Arsenal ready to pay £100m to sign midfielder

Just how Mikel Arteta decides to piece together his midfield at Arsenal next season will be one of the most fascinating debates ahead of the next season.

Indeed, while the north Londoners had no issues defensively, during the middle passages of their title winning campaign, Arteta did come across problems in the middle of the park.

Martin Zubimendi was impressive during the early stages of his time at the Emirates but his legs became tired and weary having played the second higher number of minutes in the entire squad behind Declan Rice.

Thankfully for Arteta, he had Myles Lewis-Skelly to call upon. The teenager had barely kicked a ball all season when he started in midfield against Fulham but the end result was magnificent.

Lewis-Skelly starred during a 3-0 win and was then a regular in the team, notably starting the Champions League final.

His development has come on leaps and bounds again but it could be impacted by what happens this summer.

Arsenal targeting big-money midfielder this summer

There are some key areas that Arsenal want to bolster. One includes the forward line and the other includes midfield.

As a result, the Gunners have reportedly shortlisted several players capable of strengthening those central areas with West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes said to be a priority target.

Some reports have even claimed that Arsenal have made a bid for Lille’s teenage midfield Ayoub Bouaddi but that rumour does not feel particularly concrete at this moment in time.

Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson has also been mentioned but Manchester City are the current favourites to sign him.

As a result, attention is once again turning to Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali. On transfer deadline day in the winter it was first reported that talks between the Gunners and the Italian’s camp had taken place but that one did not whir into action at such a late stage in the window.

Now, however, interest in the player has emerged again with reports from Italy noting that three teams are willing to pay Newcastle’s astronomical asking price to sign the player.

That price tag is the best part of £100m and the clubs involved are Arsenal, Manchester United and City.

The Toon are not really open to selling the player and after Anthony Gordon joined Barcelona, are under no real pressure to do so. Newcastle will make things hard.

Why Tonali would be bad news for Lewis-Skelly at Arsenal

The impression a couple of months ago was that Lewis-Skelly could be sold by Arsenal.

This is set to be a big summer for the Gunners and they will need to sell players. The likes of Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri could all be on the chopping block.

The advantage of cashing in on Nwaneri and indeed Lewis-Skelly for that matter is that as academy players, they would represent pure profit for the books.

Such are the rules in modern football that in order to spend lavishly, you must also sell sensibly. However, after a stunning change in fortunes, Lewis-Skelly has breathed fresh life into his Arsenal career. He now looks unsellable.

From that moment against Fulham to starting the Champions League final, the 19-year-old is back in favour and he looks like an immensely important part of this side. His partnership alongside Declan Rice looks remarkably well balanced.

Yet, the arrival of a mega midfield signing such as Tonali would undoubtedly put his future in danger again. After all, you do not spend £100m on a player to keep them on the bench.

Lewis-Skelly’s qualities are outstanding. He may not score nor assist on a too regular basis but he is one of the most press resistant players in the Premier League. Tonali, however, is “one of the best midfielders in Europe” in the words of Newcastle reporter Joel Bland.

As a replacement for Martin Zubimendi, he would represent a big upgrade in the middle of the park. What that would mean is that it would free up Rice to play as an 8 again, to feature in a position where he can crash the box. It’s a position he’s not been able to play in with Lewis-Skelly as the 8 instead.

Rice has previously spoken about how strong his partnership with Zubimendi has been but he could thrive even more alongside Tonali.

His passing is crisp and importantly his ball progression whether it be via passing or carrying is far better. One of the biggest criticisms of the Spaniard has been his inability to move about and advance play but Tonali could solve that and then some.

Whether or not Arsenal need to spend £100m on a new midfielder when they need to improve the attack as well is up for debate but there is no questioning just how good the Italian is.