Arsenal agree personal terms to sign £43m star

For once, this summer is not about improving the defence for Arsenal. Last season, they showcased they are one of, if not the best team in Europe when it comes to defending.

The very fact they barely conceded a chance to PSG in the Champions League final says it all.

For much of the Mikel Arteta era, he has prioritised solidity and it’s led to some mightily impressive additions at the back. Now, however, is the time for the handbreak to come off. It’s time for the Gunners to invest further forward.

Arsenal did so last summer by welcoming Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres to the club but despite their efforts during a title winning season, they have not really raised the ceiling of the squad.

So, how can they go about doing that?

Arsenal ramping up big-money moves

The two big priorities for Arsenal during the ongoing window are to bolster their ranks in attack and in midfield.

The dream target for Andrea Berta and Co is Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers. Talks are underway and the player wants the move so this is one that could progress quickly if Villa get what they deem a sensible offer.

Club Brugge’s Christos Tzolis is also on their radar, as is PSG’s Bradley Barcola. In midfield, Moroccan superstar Ayyoub Bouaddi is a player the Gunners have been holding talks regarding a move for several months now, long before his dazzling display against Brazil at the World Cup.

Sandro Tonali remains an option but Tottenham Hotspur are in the hunt for that one too and he has a strong connection to Roberto De Zerbi. They both hail from Brescia in Italy.

As a result, Roma midfielder Manu Kone is a player that has appeared on the club’s radar. According to notable insider, Hand of Arsenal, Kone is one of a host of midfielders Arsenal have held talks over signing but a firmer update comes courtesy of reports in Italy, via Sport Witness.

They report that while the player had been holding out for a move to PSG, the Champions League winners do not appear to be keen on bringing the Frenchman back to his homeland.

As a result, the Gunners are said to have made their move and after opening initial contact with Roma over a £43m move, have now actually agreed personal terms with the player.

Arsenal are now weighing up a formal offer to Roma in a bid to force through a move quickly.

How Manu Kone compares to Declan Rice

The partnership between Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi last season was a fruitful one. Well, it was for 75% of the season anyway.

Half way through the campaign, Rice noted that their partnership was blossoming, hailing the Spaniard for a seamless introduction to English football.

“He’s not the biggest player or the strongest, but his brain, the way it works, allows the team to function in such a good way”, Rice began.

Arsenal’s record signing continued: “It’s been great to play with him. I’m learning a lot and we’ve built a really good partnership, so long may that continue because we’re both young, we’re both fresh and we want to keep building that together.”

The trouble is that come the end of the season, understandably so, they were not fresh anymore. Rice was still able to put in strong performances but was having injections to manage a back problem.

For Zubimendi, he played so many minutes that his performance levels dropped and he was ultimately replaced by a more vibrant Myles Lewis-Skelly at the business end.

One of the biggest issues for the former Real Sociedad man was not just the volume of minutes he had played but also his inability to progress play. That’s where Kone is dominant.

The Frenchman is mean physical presence, someone capable of progressing play and while he did not enjoy the best of seasons in 2025/26, he was a machine during 2024/25.

During that season, he ranked among the finest 4% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for productive dribbles per 90 minutes and among the best 7% of positionally similar players for progressive carries per 90. He also won 40% of his defensive ground duels, ranking him among the top 6%.

Compared with Zubimendi’s 2025/26 campaign, the difference is night and day for some of those core attributes.

The Spaniard is a pretty and pleasing player on the eye but Kone, hailed as a “monstrous box-to-box midfielder” by scout Jacek Kulig, is the more destructive player.

In that regard, he’s much like Rice. Obviously, the England man is one of the most elite midfielders in the world but Kone is cut from a similar cloth when it comes to combining a duel winning ability with carrying the ball forward.

While having a balanced midfield is important, the thought of having two physical presences alongside each other is something that will no doubt leave Arteta’s mouth watering. He loves someone capable of winning duels on a regular basis.