Arsenal Transfer News: Latest on Edinson Cavani and Jose Gaya Rumours

Arsenal may well be enjoying one of their best seasons in the last decade, but there’s still something missing.

Champions League misery combined with Chelsea’s dominance in the Premier League has left Gunners fans feeling a little empty. And although another FA Cup win could fill a hole, they’ll expect better next time around.

Doing so means Arsene Wenger putting his hand in his pocket and adding to his already talented pool of players; and here, we take a look at two big names who could soon be wearing red.

Edinson Cavani

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Transfer rumours wouldn’t be complete without Pars Saint-Germain star Edinson Cavani’s name doing the rounds, and this time it’s Arsenal that are seemingly leading the chase for the Uruguayan’s signature.

According to TuttoMercatoWeb (via George Bellshaw of Metro) the striker has handed PSG a transfer request for the upcoming window, thus clearing the way for the Gunners to approach.

Bellshaw writes that the French champions have previously blocked Cavani’s route to the exit door, but such was his persistence that they’ve reportedly now accepted his request.

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In spite of PSG’s reluctance, their priority now will be cashing in on their front man as much as possible, with a fee of around £55 million seemingly demanded.

But is he worth that much money to the Gunners?

In short, no. Cavani is undoubtedly a player blessed with talent—his 25 goals in all competitions prove as much, per WhoScored.com—but he’s not what Arsenal need.

Sure, the 28-year-old would bring goals to the side, but they’re hardly lacking in that department right now.

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The Gunners have scored 63 goals in the Premier League this season, just five behind leaders Chelsea and seven away from the free-scoring Manchester City’s total.

Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez have proved to be all the scoring power that the Gunners need, with the French striker’s ability to finish off free-flowing moves getting better and better as his career at the Emirates goes on.

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Meanwhile, Cavani is more of YouTube kind of striker.

I could sit in front of a screen and watch the Uruguayan’s highlight reels all day, but when it comes to 90 minutes of football, I’m yet to see anything special. And before you say I’m crazy, I said the same of the pre-Chelsea Fernando Torres.

I’m no football oracle, sure, but it’s clear that upwards of £50 million could go towards far better things for the Gunners.

Besides, Cavani won’t be able to get away with dipping in and out of games for Arsenal, as Wenger has enough quality on the bench to just haul him off.

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Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how this story develops, as PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi recently told Le Parisien that his man isn’t going anywhere, even for €50 million (via Stefan Coerts of Goal.com):

"I have not held talks with Cavani over his future. He is a young player and is the future of PSG. A €50m offer from Manchester United? I would not even look at such a bid.”

Plus, footballitalia are reporting that Juventus are, in fact, leading the chase for Cavani, as they revealed via Twitter:

That’s just as well, then, as it means Arsenal can focus their transfer attention elsewhere—if they weren’t doing so already.

Jose Gaya

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Valencia left-back Jose Gaya has been billed as the next Jordi Alba—and that’s essentially all that you need to know.

The 19-year-old has come of age in La Liga this term, with his adventurous style down the left flank really catching the eye.

The transfer links have been piling up, naturally, and according to Will Giles of Metro, Arsenal could launch a £14.6 million bid to make him their own.

However, ESPN’s Nicholas Rigg revealed that Gaya is now very close to signing a new deal at the Mestalla Stadium:

Both Real Madrid and Chelsea were also rumoured to be interested in the marauding full-back, but the man himself told AS that he’s all but penned a new contract (via Goal.com):

“My renewal is at an advanced stage. Everything's going well and there are only a few minor details that need tying up."

Whether or not Arsenal were genuine contenders for Gaya’s signature, we don’t know, but with Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal proving useful at left-back, it seems unlikely.

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So, where does Wenger’s attention turn now?

The obvious position at the start of the season that needed tweaking was defensive midfield, but the emergence of Francis Coquelin has seemingly put plans for a new anchor back on the shelf.

Recruiting a new, world-class centre-back wouldn’t exactly go down badly with the Arsenal faithful, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Wenger went back to his old ways of avoiding the transfer market.

This time, though, he has every reason to do so, as the Gunners are very close to being the real deal.