Despite their desperation, Arsenal may not be able to afford to acquire Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo this summer.
According to journalist Harry Symeou, who said as much on the YouTube channel The Gooner Talk.
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, has a tendency to try to sign players with whom he has previously collaborated.
He recruited Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City last summer, and he is currently focusing on Joao Cancelo.
Two seasons ago, the Portuguese defender was among the Premier League’s top full-backs.
His seven assists enabled Manchester City to capture a second league crown.
He was, however, loaned out to Bayern Munich in the middle of last season, indicating Pep Guardiola deemed him surplus to needs.
The 29-year-old was offered a permanent contract by the German champions this summer, but they declined.
In order to capitalise on their success from the previous season, Symeou now claims that Arsenal actually wants to sign Cancelo.
Zinchenko may have déjà vu if he observes the Portuguese lining up in front of him once more.
Cancelo is wanted by Arsenal, but the cost will be difficult.
When asked about the team’s interest in Cancelo, Symeou responded, “I truly, really think that Arsenal wants to execute this transaction.
“Whether they’ll be able to do it or not is still up in the air because, in my opinion, doing this would be financially challenging.
We are aware that Bayern had a purchase option at a price of roughly €60 (£51m), but we also are aware that Bayern has decided not to exercise it.
This implies that Manchester City thinks the player is valuable, which he unquestionably is.
“It will cost money to get him off of a rival, and City do perceive us as that now. I don’t think they’ll be allowing people go across to Arsenal as freely as they did last summer looking at the way that lifted us.
“I anticipate that he will also have high wage demands.”
According to Spotrac, Cancelo is currently making £250,000 a week at Manchester City.
Even if joining Arsenal didn’t result in a compensation increase, he would still rank among the team’s highest earners.
Given his apparent talent and how well he fits into Arteta’s system, it seems sense that Arsenal would want to sign Cancelo.
Given the anticipated expense for Declan Rice, as Symeou points out, the financial situation might prove to be too great a hurdle to surmount.
Man City might also be hesitant to bolster one of their closest rivals once more, and there’s no certainty Cancelo would be interested in a transfer.
However, it would be a major victory for Arsenal if they were able to close the deal.