Arsenal Transfer News: Sebastian Giovinco Door Opened, Fresh Lucas Silva Hope

Juventus forward Sebastian Giovinco looks set to leave the Bianconeri, and the player’s agent Andrea D’Amico has claimed there is a chance he could move to Arsenal with his contract due to expire at the end of the current campaign.

But during an interview with gianluciadimarzio.net, D’Amico was also quick to insist there are plenty of options open to his client and Giovinco will make a decision on his future come the end of this campaign:

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Giovinco to Arsenal? At the moment only Juventus can negotiate with him, later on however things can change since he has an expiring contract. 

He also stated that he wants to evaluate options at the end of the season, since right now there is Serie A and the Champions League.

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Here’s a look at the kind of attributes that the 27-year-old could potentially bring to the Emirates:

Stylistically, Giovinco would fit right in at Arsenal. He is a very skilful player that has an excellent appreciation of how best to utilise space on the field. Although a lack of minutes has prevented him from showcasing this recently, he has a keen eye for goal too. But with D’Amico pointing to the player’s desire for regular football later in the interview, a move to the Gunners looks unlikely.

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The Italian is an adaptable talent and would be useful as a squad rotation player for Arsene Wenger, but he doesn’t quite have the required class to mix it with the likes of Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck in the forward positions or Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the attacking-midfield berths.

While he may well be available on a cut-price deal in January or as a free agent in the summer, it’s a move that simply doesn’t make sense for the Gunners, nor the player. In the case of the former, it’d be a mere indulgence in attacking options when there are other areas of this team in need of clear addressing.

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One of those areas is at the base of the midfield, where Arsenal are crying out for a physical, authoritative presence. And they’ve been handed a boost in their pursuit of a player in that bracket, Cruzeiro’s Lucas Silva.

The young Brazilian looked poised to join Real Madrid, but according to Alvaro de la Rosa of AS, Los Blancos have had a second bid rejected for the midfielder. The second offer was reported to be more than the €12 million that was offered initially by the European champions.

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According to De La Rosa’s piece, the Brazilian club are holding out for a minimum of €15 million and it’s a figure that Arsenal have already offered in order to bring the young midfielder to the Premier League.

The player's father has also claimed that he could easily stay in Brazil past the January window too, per Sport Witness:

Here’s why Cruzeiro are adamant on getting their money's worth as they look to agree a sale for their player:

On paper, Silva would be the ideal player to help shore up the Gunners’ midfield; he has been compared to Kaka in recent weeks, but that comparison is misguided. The 21-year-old is a physical, industrious holding midfield player that has blossomed over the course of the past two seasons, and encouragingly for Arsenal, he’s an expansive passer of the ball, too.

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He’s not quite a midfield enforcer like Nemanja Matic, but the potential is there for him to grow. And with the Gunners in clear need of a player in his mould, Silva would surely get more game time than at Madrid, where he would potentially be vying with the likes of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Isco, Sami Khedira and Asier Illarramendi for minutes.

The aforementioned piece claims that Silva would prefer a move to Real, and he has already admitted that playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo would be a dream come true, per Sky Sports.

Nonetheless, at this stage of his development, Arsenal would be the better option for Silva, as would remaining in Brazil where he could play matches and refine his skills. But if Real Madrid come calling, it’d be difficult for any young player to resist the lure of the Santiago Bernabeu.