Arsenal could bid £126m for Real Madrid target who they’ve watched for ages

Arsenal could reportedly bid £126 million for a player targeted by Real Madrid, which would eclipse the fee they paid to sign Declan Rice from West Ham last summer in a real statement of intent.

The players Arsenal could look to sign next year

It was a quieter summer transfer window this year in comparison to 2023, with Edu Gaspar and Mikel Arteta spending half of what they did back then.

Arsenal made David Raya’s loan deal permanent, as they were widely expected to do, whilst also signing defender Riccardo Calafiori, midfielder Mikel Merino, back-up keeper Neto and winger Raheem Sterling for just over £100 million in total.

Sterling was their most blockbuster purchase, and the England international bagged his first goal for the club on loan from Chelsea with his strike against Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening.

However, Arsenal’s current injury crisis suggests that Arteta could do with more strength in depth, so Edu is already looking towards the new year for solutions. It is believed that Arteta wants a prolific goalscorer at Arsenal, leading to them considering an array of new strikers.

Reports have linked Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Sporting Lisbon star Viktor Gyokeres and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic in the past week alone, so perhaps Edu could bring in competition for Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz up front.

Elsewhere, the club continue to display an interest in Espanyol keeper Joan Garcia after missing out on a deal in the summer window. It has been reiterated by multiple media sources that Arsenal are likely to go back in for Garcia next year, so this could be one to watch out for.

Arsenal could make £126 million offer for Florian Wirtz

A player who’ll be making headlines next year, and is likely to leave his current club, is Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz. Arteta is said to be a big fan of Wirtz, who played a crucial role in Leverkusen’s march to the Bundesliga title last season, also impressed at Euro 2024 with Germany and is regarded as his nation’s next big star.

The 21-year-old will cost well over £100m as a result, and it is believed that Arsenal would actually be willing to shell out the figure required. According to SportBILD, via Sport Witness, Arsenal could pay Wirtz’ £126m price tag, which would be quite an audacious move from Edu and co.

They add that the Premier League title chasers are “fully committed” to the idea of bringing Wirtz in after watching him since he was a youngster, but they are not alone – as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester City are all eyeing up the attacking midfielder as well.

“Florian is just a huge asset for this team through his carefree nature,” said ex-Germany head coach Hansi Flick.

“He’s simply an outstanding technician, loves to play, is very creative, has a good shot, runs hard and is quick. He’s got a good total package.”