Mikel Arteta admits defeat in Arsenal-Juventus swap deal

Carlo Garganese

• 1 Nov 2023 16:40 GMT
• 3 min read

Mikel Arteta has admitted defeat in his hopes of luring Manuel Locatelli to Arsenal as the Juventus midfielder is set to sign a new contract with the Italians.

Locatelli’s current contract in Turin expires in 2026 but Gianluca Di Marzio reports that he extend his deal until 2028. The news will be made official in the coming weeks and the 25-year-old will earn a payrise as part of his extension.

This contract will end Arteta’s hopes of signing Locatelli.

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Arteta has been a big fan of Locatelli for a number of years now, with Arsenal trying to sign him on a number of occasions.

Juventus beat Arsenal to the signing of Locatelli from Sassuolo for a fee of €37.5 million in the summer of 2021.

Arsenal then returned for Locatelli last season and were prepared to offer Kieran Tierney in an exchange deal last summer.

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The Gunners were also considering offering Thomas Partey in a swap deal moving into 2024. Partey has been a player Juve have been looking at following the long bans received by midfielders Nicolo Fagioli and Paul Pogba.

There was hope that given Locatelli’s under-par first two years at Juventus that he could be enticed to Arsenal.

However, Locatelli has been in excellent form this season for a Juventus side who are second and only two points off leaders Inter.

Locatelli has thus been rewarded with a new contract which will ward off any interest Arteta still has. Juventus also have no intention of selling.

The creative midfielder has emerged as one of Europe’s most admired players at Sassuolo under coach Roberto De Zerbi.

He was one of the breakout stars at Euro 2020, scoring twice in the win over Switzerland as Italy went all the way to win the trophy at Wembley.

Locatelli rejected Arsenal and Dortmund in 2021

Both Arsenal and Dortmund had €40m bids for Locatelli accepted by Sassuolo before Euro 2020 began.

However, Locatelli made it clear from the start that he was only interested in joining Juventus, the club he supported as a kid.

Locatelli burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old for AC Milan, scoring a memorable winner against Juventus seven years ago.

However, his career then stagnated at San Siro until he was resurrected at Sassuolo.

He has to date made 254 club appearances, scoring 12 goals. He has been capped 26 times by Italy, finding the net on three instances.