Arsenal Transfer News Today: Alvarez ON, Nico Williams DECISION, Merino U-TURN?

Robin Bairner

5 Aug 2024 13:20 BST
5 min read

The latest Arsenal football transfer news updates, with the hottest updates on all the potential new signings and sales at the Emirates Stadium, including Julian Alvarez, Mikel Merino and Nico Williams.

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Arsenal prepared to meet Man City’s Alvarez asking price

FootballTransfers has exclusively revealed that Arsenal are willing to pay up to €82 million to sign Julian Alvarez from Manchester City – a stance that puts a transfer firmly on the cards.

Although Pep Guardiola’s side are reticent to sell the World Cup winner and will hold talks with the player in a bid to keep him at the club, if they are to allow him to leave, Fabrizio Romano has said that a deal could be brokered in the region of €70-80m.

No deal is expected to be completed imminently, but Arsenal are positioning themselves in a promising way for the striker.

Current ETV

Julián Álvarez

F, M (C)

Man City

Julián Álvarez

F, M (C)

Man City

ETV Range

€48.1M - €80.1M

Nico Williams’ transfer stance

Athletic Club winger Nico Williams has disappointed a string of major clubs, including Arsenal, by confirming via his agent that he will remain with the LaLiga side for the next season.

In a report compiled by Partidazo de COPE, PSG, who were one of the clubs most interested in landing the winger, have been told by Williams’ representative that he has no plans to move this summer unless something radically changes.

Barcelona had been considered to be a leading candidate to sign the 21-year-old, while Arsenal and Chelsea had also been interested from the Premier League.

Current ETV

Nico Williams

M (L)

Athletic

Nico Williams

M (L)

Athletic

ETV Range

€37.2M - €62M

Merino doubts?

Some doubts have been cast on Mikel Merino’s transfer to Arsenal from Real Sociedad – a deal that seemed in good voice last week but has not continued at such a pace over the weekend.

According to Football.London, there are decision-makers at the Emirates Stadium who feel that at 28 years old, Merino is too old to be signing for the Gunners.

This faction is countered by others who are pushing for his arrival, believing that the “minuscule” gap to Manchester City can be closed by his arrival.

Meanwhile, Matteo Moretto on the Daily Briefing states that talks between Arsenal and Sociedad are progressing steadily, suggesting that a move is still very much on the cards.

© IMAGO - Mikel Merino's move to Arsenal is in some doubt

Arsenal clash with Newcastle

Relationships are frosty between Arsenal and Newcastle, according to the Independent, which reports that the club Premier League giants are not on friendly terms.

It states that there is a feud between the club over Arsenal’s attitude towards state-owned clubs, leading to a cold relationship at the boardroom level.

The Gunners have been fighting to restrict the power of the likes of Manchester City and Newcastle, who are owned by Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia respectively.

Arsenal have failed to raid Newcastle from Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak this summer.

Compared

Alexander Isak

F (C)

Newcastle Utd.

Alexander Isak

F (C)

Newcastle Utd.

VS

Bruno Guimarães

M (C)

Newcastle Utd.

Bruno Guimarães

M (C)

Newcastle Utd.

€71.7M	ETV	€67.4M
€53.8M - €89.6M	ETV Range	€50.6M - €84.3M
25 years old (21 Sep, 1999)	Age	27 years old (16 Nov, 1997)
Sweden	Nationality	Brazil

Edu: Unpopular decisions have made Arsenal great again

Arsenal sporting director Edu has spoken to Men In Blazers about how he took a stand against overpaid and underperforming players to act as a catalyst for the renaissance of the Gunners.

“When you live in the football world, sometimes you have to make decisions simple and sometimes you have to make decisions even if it is not popular,” he said.

“You have to be very strong on your ideas, what you believe, what is good for the club, what is good for the future of the club.

When I came to Arsenal, I saw all the squad, with respect, almost everyone was over 26, 27, on big salaries and not performing

- Edu, Men In Blazers

“When I came to Arsenal, I saw all the squad, with respect, almost everyone was over 26, 27, on big salaries and not performing. If you have those three elements, which club in the world wants to come here and buy one of our players? No-one.

“So how do you deal with that situation? You have to be strong and sometimes you have to make decisions. You can go strong and try to let those players go or your project is going to take, instead of three or four years, maybe seven, eight or nine.

“'Then unpopular decisions started to come. Because most of the players that have those elements, they have a fanbase and a media that love them. But for the club it is not healthy sometimes to keep the player in that situation.”