Arsenal Transfer News: Ayoze Perez Rumours, Wojciech Szczesny Discusses Future
Arsenal are reportedly ready to join rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in the pursuit of Newcastle United’s talented forward Ayoze Perez.
According to Spanish outlet Fichajes (h/t Liam Corless of the Daily Mirror), the Gunners and the aforementioned pair have all been impressed by the Spaniard since his move to the Magpies last summer; now they are said to be keen on luring him to the Emirates Stadium.
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The 22-year-old has been a bright spark for Newcastle during what has been a desperate period for the club. Indeed, the north-east outfit currently sit in 17th place in the Premier League, moving out of the relegation zone last weekend with a fortunate 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
It was no surprise that Perez grabbed the goal that earned the points for the Magpies and along with summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum, he’s been Newcastle’s standout player this term. These kinds of showings have made Perez a vital figure in Steve McClaren’s first XI, despite what some others may suggest, per Daniel Storey of Football365:
If Arsenal are interested, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise. Perez is an extremely gifted forward who can occupy a variety of tactical roles on the field and is the type of talent who would thrive with a higher standard of player around him. Should the Gunners make a move for the forward, you suspect he’d jump at the opportunity.
Centre-forward is an area of longstanding concern for Arsenal, too. Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott have both performed well in patches through the middle, but the Gunners are still lacking a spark.
As we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, there are concerns about the Frenchman, who does seem to squander a lot of chances:
At the moment, it’d be too early for Perez to make such a substantial move. With Newcastle, he’s developing well alongside the likes of Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic, whereas at Arsenal he’d struggle to secure a role quite as significant.
In the future, he’s someone who could potentially thrive at the Emirates Stadium, though.
Wojciech Szczesny Speaks About his Future
Wojciech Szczesny, currently on loan at Roma from Arsenal, has revealed that he’ll wait until after next summer’s European Championships before making a final decision on his future.
With Petr Cech currently doing a tremendous job between the sticks at the Emirates, getting back in the team seems as though it’s beyond Szczesny—who has continued his erratic traits with the Giallorossi since joining.
The Pole has revealed he’d love to return to Arsenal but nothing has been determined yet, per przegladsportowy.pl (h/t the Daily Telegraph and the Press Association):
"My future will be decided after the European Championships. I love Arsenal, but I'm happy at Roma. I know that Roma want me, but I don't see why Arsenal would not want me also.
Leaving Arsenal was painful and it was a difficult decision to make. I can't imagine myself with another English team.
"
Roma’s director of football Walter Sabatini revealed earlier this week that the Serie A side would like to keep hold of Szczesny beyond his current loan deal, per Sacha Pisani of Goal. For the 25-year-old, starting afresh at an illustrious club would allow him the chance to re-establish his reputation as one of the best young goalkeepers around.
Still, as noted by MisterChip, there have been some horrible moments for Szczesny between the sticks at Roma, most notably a calamitous showing against BATE Borisov in the Champions League:
It’s wise for the Polish international to take time to consider his future, but it seems unlikely he’ll fulfil his potential at Arsenal. Manager Arsene Wenger axed him from the starting XI last season in favour of David Ospina, and with Cech now showing his qualities on a regular basis, chances would be scarce.
Roma are a strong side challenging for some top honours and are clearly keen on making Szczesny their long-term goalkeeper. Although it’ll be galling to leave Arsenal permanently, it seems as though that’d be a wise career move for the 25-year-old, and joining the Giallorossi is a challenge most stoppers in world football would jump at.
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