Arsenal Transfer News: Major Names Lined Up by Gunners in Latest Rumours

Arsenal will sign Morgan Schneiderlin this summer, according to Sun reporter Charlie Wyett. He made the claim during an interview with talkSPORT (h/t Metro's Jamie Sanderson).

The latter believes the prospective transfer will cost the Gunners "about £24 million." Meanwhile, Wyett has identified the Southampton holding midfielder as one half of an ideal double signing from manager Arsene Wenger: "I think Morgan Schneiderlin will be joining Arsenal. He would be a good signing along with Petr Cech."

There's no doubt many Gunners fans would welcome the arrival of Schneiderlin. The 25-year-old Frenchman is widely viewed as the ideal enforcer for the base of Arsenal's midfield.

Schneiderlin certainly possesses qualities to admire. His positional sense and discipline are both excellent. So is his composure on the ball.

Yet the timing of Wyett's claim is more than strange. After all, his own newspaper recently ran an exclusive claiming the Gunners had bid £28.5 million for Sporting Lisbon's defensive-midfield powerhouse William Carvalho.

Aside from whatever other options are currently on Wenger's radar, Arsenal also seem set to face tough competition should they try to finalise any deal for Schneiderlin.

Some of that competition could come from very close to home. Local rivals Tottenham Hotspur are ready to pay £25 million for Schneiderlin, according to London Evening Standard writer Simon Johnson. It's a fee slightly more than Sanderson believes the Saints star will cost, and one both Arsenal and Manchester United are reluctant to pay.

Speaking of United, the Red Devils have spent most of the past month heavily linked with Schneiderlin. In fact, the player himself has indicated he will leave Southampton in pursuit of Champions League football, per Daily Star reporter Jack Wilson.

He revealed how Old Trafford gaffer Louis van Gaal would use Schneiderlin: "Boss Louis van Gaal is a big Schneiderlin fan. United struggled this season when Michael Carrick was injured and the Red Devils boss believes Schneiderlin is the answer to his problems. The Gunners were thought to be favourites but United are now at the front of the queue."

But other suitors don't necessarily represent the biggest sticking point in any deal between Arsenal and Schneiderlin. There's also the excellent form of Francis Coquelin.

Jon Super/Associated Press

The player who returned to the team after some uninspiring loan spells became a revelation this season. He anchored the midfield expertly, providing top-notch defensive instincts and the kind of tough tackling all but forgotten by many Gunners players in the middle.

Adding Schneiderlin, who'd certainly expect to start, wouldn't be about providing cover for Coquelin. It would mean replacing him.

It's highly unlikely that a manager as faithful to expansive, attacking football as Wenger would consider operating with two holding players. So Coquelin should expect to be pushed aside by any high-priced new arrival at his position.

That's something that's already giving the 24-year-old cause for concern. Earlier this month, the Times (h/t Daily Star's Alex Wood) claimed Coquelin had demanded talks with Wenger about the transfer rumours surrounding his position: "The midfielder enforcer is concerned about Wenger's interest in other holding players. And it's thought Coquelin, 24, will seek assurances about his potential game time next season."

Coquelin's reluctance to go back to being a fringe player is certainly understandable. Given how well he's played in 2015, it seems strange to be investing so heavily in a replacement.

Wenger's more immediate focus should be on fixing the bigger problem further back in his team.

Chelsea to Give Petr Cech £4 Million Parting Gift Ahead of Arsenal Move

The transfer saga that limps on one monotonous step at a time has produced another so-called "development." Arsenal's proposed deal to sign Chelsea stopper Cech has moved yet another inch closer to completion amid reports the Blues will give the veteran a £4 million going away gift, according to Sunday People writer Neil Moxley (h/t Mirror).

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

He claims Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will pay off most of the remaining part of Cech's current contract to hasten his move to the Gunners:

"

Goalkeeper Cech is in line for the payment from the billionaire Russian when his move to Arsenal is completed later this week.

The 33-year-old has 12 months left on his Chelsea contract and will receive a large chunk of his remaining salary in a goodwill gesture for his exemplary service to the club.

Sunday People Sport understands that the Gunners’ fee is in the region of £8m and Cech is in line to claw back about half of that.

"

Moxley notes that while this is standard practice for many clubs, few departing players are so handsomely rewarded. Of course, Cech has been a standout performer for Chelsea for a decade.

His time between the sticks coincided with the most successful period in the Stamford Bridge club's history. He also displayed tremendous resiliency and courage to come back and continue playing after the head injury he received against Reading in 2006.

Chelsea certainly are sending Cech off in style. That is if this protracted deal is ever going to actually happen.

Former Gunners right-back Lauren, a massively underrated player in his day, recently appeared to confirm the deal via his personal Twitter account:

Arsenal's club photographer Stuart MacFarlane then set tongues wagging after following Cech on Twitter, per blog Gunners Reddit:

MacFarlane soon had to play down his knowledge of the club's transfer policy, something that should have been obvious to begin with:

That a few random tweets could generate so much buzz is indicative of how this transfer has rumbled on for too long already. About the only thing clear in the whole situation is how Cech represents a major upgrade at the biggest problem position in Arsenal's starting 11.

While £8 million (at least) is a steep figure for a 33-year-old, Arsenal haven't had a truly commanding 'keeper since Jens Lehmann tended goal. Truthfully, the German's excellence only really encompassed two seasons, 2003/04 and 2005/06.

Since Lehmann was shoved aside in 2007, Wenger has stumbled through several destined-to-fail projects at this vital spot. Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianksi and Wojciech Szczesny all failed to impress.

Even David Ospina, the man who replaced Szczesny this season, often appears far from convincing. Now the Colombian is reportedly set to join Fenerbahce just one season after signing for the Gunners, according to Turkish source HaberTurk (h/t the Independent's James Orr).

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Wenger seems to be finally getting serious about landing the kind of experienced and steady stopper he needs to form the backbone of a sustained challenge for the Premier League title.

Landing Cech would be the most significant move he makes this summer.

The Gunners need Chelsea's back-up goalie more than they need Schneiderlin. Putting Cech between the posts and adding a quality finisher to play centre-forward should remain Wenger's transfer priorities.