Berta leads Arsenal talks to sign £65m star

This Arsenal project has been tough at times for Mikel Arteta, but in for a penny, in for a pound, and the Spanish coach has now created a dynasty.

In case you had forgotten – though it isn’t likely – Arsenal are Premier League champions, finally getting the job done after three successive second-place finishes.

Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but the Gunners marinated their cooking pot and have been rewarded with the sweetest of piping meals, beating Manchester City and dethroning Liverpool.

The best part, of course, is that Arteta’s appetite for success is insatiable, and he is determined to strengthen his champions this summer ahead of next year’s title defence.

Arsenal in talks to sign Premier League midfielder

News has emerged from all corners of Arsenal’s interest in Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes, with a formal approach knocked back.

Guimaraes is one of Europe’s standout midfielders, but he is valued at £100m by the Magpies, who have scoffed at Arsenal’s opening £55m proposal.

However, the Brazilian, who is 28 years old, is not the only Premier League midfielder on Emirates technical director Andrea Berta’s radar.

According to one well-placed Arsenal insider, Berta has personally made contact with Bournemouth on several occasions to determine whether a deal could be done for Alex Scott this summer.

While there has been a feeling in the past that a deal could be done for £65m, a not-ludicrous figure in today’s very-ludicrous transfer market, the Cherries are now resisting advances, determined to tie the 22-year-old down to a new contract to strengthen their hand.

Outwardly, their stance is that he is not for sale for any price. But that is a common response to interest from superpowers such as Arsenal, who are biding their time in the pursuit of a new midfield partner for Declan Rice.

Why Alex Scott would be a better signing than Guimaraes for Arsenal

Make no mistake, Guimaraes is one of the best midfielders out there. He has shown for Brazil over the past few weeks that he can marshall his troops, defending with purpose and attacking with incision, like no one else.

But there are factors that simply have to be considered: he turns 29 in November, and given that Sandro Tonali appears to be inching toward Tottenham (though Arsenal are very much in the mix), it could be that Eddie Howe bars any approaches for good this summer.

Scott might be young, but he is one of the Premier League’s brightest young stars, and though he is still learning, he would find that he can absorb the fruits of Rice’s work over the coming years while still adding a few dimensions. In fact, he already ranks up rather favourably to Guimaraes.

Scott might not be as accomplished an attacking outlet as Guimaraes, but he has shown that he knows where the back of the net is over the past year, notably bagging the winner as Bournemouth defeated the Gunners at the Emirates in April.

He is confident and clever when on the ball, and while he isn’t the most physical of midfielders, he still gets stuck in when against the flow of possession, standing firm against such currents and winning it back before creating attacking sequences that were fostered under Andoni Iraola’s fast-flowing system.

Arsenal need to fight for silverware next season, but they also need to maintain this shrewd and calculated transfer strategy that has borne such dividends in recent years, firing Arsenal to the top of the tree.

Scott is not the finished article, but he has already shown that he can star for a team like Arsenal. Guimaraes is currently operating at the hgiher level, but when looking at the long run, this could be the signature that keeps Arsenal in the ascendancy for many years to come.