Arsenal Transfer News: Latest Roundup of Information from Summer Transfer Window

Every summer during the transfer window, Arsenal are one of the Premier League's most interesting teams to watch.

Not equipped with a transfer kitty as prodigious as teams like Manchester City, Arsene Wenger's ability to keep the Gunners competitive despite a tighter budget has become ingrained in his legacy.

Arsenal have finished no lower than fourth in the Premier League table since 1995-96. They have kept the fans at Emirates Stadium mostly satisfied by staying a viably competitive club and developing some of the most tantalizing talent in the world.

That being said, Wenger just being competitive could start wearing thin soon.

Though the Gunners have not been bad, per se, in any particular season, they haven't been true contenders for nearly a decade.

Their last second-place finish was in 2004-05, and they haven't won a European championship since a season prior.

When you boast one of the world's richest and most passionate fanbases, there's a difference between good and good enough. Wenger's clubs haven't been the latter in a pretty long time.

With a renewed emphasis on winning now, though, Arsenal's current core could be on the precipice of true contention with a couple moves. 

As the transfer window news continues to heat up, here is a look at all the latest happenings for the Gunners.

Vito Mannone's Move to Sunderland Deemed Official

Never let it be said that the Gunners do not take advantage of market value when they can find it.

From frugally finding undervalued players during their transfer window opportunities, to selling current team stars that are overvalued externally, Arsene Wenger's noted ability to make the right moves at the right time has kept Arsenal competitive—even when they shouldn't be.

Such is the case, it seems, for backup goalkeeper Vito Mannone.

As noted in an official release by the team's website, the 25-year-old Mannone completed his long-discussed move to Sunderland on Wednesday. For now, the terms of the move were undisclosed by Arsenal.

After coming over and joining Arsenal's youth squad from Atalanta, Mannone quickly made an impression.

He was brought up to the senior club right around the time he would legally be allowed to buy a pack of cigarettes in the United States, a year after his arrival in 2006.

While Mannone struggled to find his way into Arsenal's first team on a regular basis—he made only 23 appearances for the club in total—he did find himself a useful asset as a developmental project.

Mannone went out on loan regularly throughout his career with Arsenal, most notably becoming a regular for Hull City. From 2010-12, Mannone made 31 appearances in net for Hull, helping the club become one of the premier sides of the Championship. 

But it wasn't until last season when Mannone truly staked his reputation as deserving of a full-time Premier League spot.

With Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski both suffering through injuries, Mannone stepped in and played well enough to eventually earn No. 2 honors for a short time. He blanked both Stoke City and Liverpool, and seemed to be on the precipice of ascending to the top spot in net.

However, it wasn't meant to be.

Mannone found himself languishing on the edge of the depth chart again by season's end, and Sunderland luckily came along and scooped him up.

Sunderland have signed Mannone to a two-year contract, according to Sky Sports. He should find himself with a regular position for the Premier League side, which finished 17th in the table last season.  

Nicklas Bendtner Set for a Move to Eintracht Frankfurt for £3 million

Elsewhere on the "players departing" front is a guy who very few probably even remember is under contract with the Gunners.

Formerly a promising striker in their youth program, Nicklas Bendtner has become somewhat of a forgotten man at Emirates Stadium.

Though Bendtner scored 43 goals in 157 appearances for Arsenal after joining the senior club in 2005, his inconsistent form and the emergence of other players at his position forced him out of the regular rotation.

Since August of 2011, the 25-year-old Danish forward has been in a state of purgatory.

He spent the 2011-12 season on loan with Sunderland, scoring eight league goals in 28 appearances.

After coming back to Arsenal, Bendtner was immediately shipped to Juventus, where he failed to make much of an impact before going out with injury.

Finally, though, it seems like Bendtner will have a permanent home—just not with Arsenal.

According to Darren Lewis of the Mirror, Bendtner is heading to German side Eintracht Frankfurt on a £3 million fee. The two sides will have to come to personal terms but it seems like a mere formality at this point.

Eintracht Frankfurt represents everything Bendtner is looking for a club.

The Bundesliga side is very competitive—they finished sixth in the table last season—but still will give him an opportunity to play almost on a weekly basis. Given the comfort of knowing his role, perhaps Bendtner will recapture the magic that once made him a sought-after youth name.

For Arsenal, they get a relatively strong chunk of change for a player who was barely within their peripheral vision.

Bendtner had spent eight seasons with the Gunners—on loan and with the senior club—but both recognized the benefits of separating. 

Clement Grenier Claims Arsenal Were Rebuffed on Transfer Bid

While it's not quite the Dwight Howard saga going on stateside in the NBA, French side Lyon and their blossoming young midfield star Clement Grenier have been going through quite the summer tussle.

The subject of constant transfer rumors due to his shaky contract situation, Grenier has been linked to many clubs across the world.

But the one that continually comes up is Arsenal.

The Gunners have been associated with the 22-year-old Frenchman going back at least to May. It was then that Wenger told Telefoot (h/t Express) that Grenier reminds him of Nasri and that the club has been watching him.

Flash-forward a little over a month and Wenger's sights are still set on landing the prized midfielder.

Unfortunately for the Gunners, it doesn't seem like Lyon are too keen on selling Grenier for the price offered so far.

Grenier spoke with Le Parisien (h/t Sky Sports) earlier this week about his current situation with Lyon and admitted that Arsenal have made a bid that was rejected. 

"I know Lyon have rejected an offer from Arsenal," Grenier said. "Of course it is flattering that clubs are interested in me. It's hard for me to talk about my future now because I'm not yet certain of it. I prefer to wait to be 100 percent sure of what is going to happen before I do it."

Certainly, that's a frustrating blow for Arsenal's summer hopes.

Grenier showed flashes of becoming a creative attacking midfielder with a wide range of skills, scoring seven goals and sending out six assists in 20 starts with Lyon last season in league play. He's also been capped twice on the French national team, with more almost certainly on the way over the next few years.

In other words, Grenier is the type of player Wenger's program has subsisted on him finding. All signs point to the Frenchman continuing his strong development and perhaps bringing Lyon an even steeper transfer fee should they wait it out.

Either way, Arsenal are going to have to raise their price to make this happen—if they can.

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