Arsenal ended their hoodoo last season by winning the Premier League after years of narrowly missing out. But the quest to improve does not stop, especially after Mikel Arteta’s side lost the Champions League final. In that regard, it looks like a couple of Newcastle United players might be on their radar.
Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes have both been heavily linked with moves away lately. The former is already believed to have agreed personal terms with Arsenal’s North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur. The latter is enjoying a stellar World Cup campaign with Brazil and was instrumental in their turnaround win over Japan to make it to the round of 16.
Coming back to Newcastle United, one would imagine that they would like to keep both their star midfielders if possible. There is some good news in that respect.
Arsenal have seemingly dropped out from one of those transfer races. And it might have to do with the financial implications of a deal more than anything else.
Arsenal make Sandro Tonali transfer decision
According to a report from Chronicle Live, Arsenal did not entertain Tonali’s £275,000-per-week wage demands or the 10 per cent agent cut of the transfer fee. The Premier League champions were offered the chance to sign the Italian midfielder via his agency last week.
That is good news if you want to see Tonali remain at Newcastle United. It is just one less side to worry about when it comes to swooping in for the midfielder.
On the contrary, if the club are aiming to get as much of a transfer fee as possible out of Tonali’s exit, this is not great news. The more competition there is, the higher the figure tends to be.
Anyways, let’s see what the future holds for Tonali. On the other hand, when it comes to Guimaraes, a move to the North London club could be still on.
Arsenal remain keen on another Newcastle United midfielder
Arsenal do still seem to be in the race to bring in Guimaraes though. But that might not remain the case for longer if he continues performing like this at the World Cup.
Guimaraes has been one of Brazil’s best performers at the World Cup, only behind Vinicius Jr, if that. He has provided four assists in as many games, including the last-ditch winner against Japan.
With every performance, Guimaraes’ transfer fee might be going up. And if Arsenal were worried about the financial side of a deal for Tonali, they might have the same problem with his teammate as well.
Of course, this is also good news for Newcastle United and very much a win-win situation. Either they will keep one of their best players or bring in an astronomical transfer fee out of his departure.
