Real Madrid will offload Marco Asensio if he doesn’t accept their contract offer by the next transfer window.
The attacker is on Arsenal’s shopping list, but he is negotiating his stay with Madrid for a much longer-term than the current one.
The Spanish side also wants to keep him beyond his current deal, however, they are not willing to pay him what he wants.
A report via Sport Witness claims Madrid is offering him the same base salary of 9m euros per season he earns now, but he wants more.
They have added a small bonus to their offer, but will not go beyond that. It claims Los Blancos are also aware of Arsenal’s interest in his signature.
They are open to the idea of selling him when the transfer window reopens, which means the Gunners can get their man if they table the right offer for his signature.
Just Arsenal Opinion
Asensio has a knack for scoring stunning goals, especially from outside the penalty area, and Arsenal is missing a player with that ability.
We need a new striker to score many goals for us, but there are some matches where you will need a player that can unlock a defence with a stunning strike from outside the 18-yard-box.
Asensio will not come cheap, but Arsenal should be ready to spend a lot of money in the summer.
Arsenal management and fans struggle every time they pay a lot for a player, then give him big wages. Asensio makes about $175,000 per week. It will cost $200,000 per week to bring him to Arsenal. If he costs 50 million and then struggles, how long before the fans and management turn on him?
Arsenal might be a big club with a big history, but current management have a small club mentality. They want to sign young, easily controlled players for transfer fees below the levels of the top clubs and sign them on wages that do not attract headlines.
That is not a criticism, but an obervation. Arsenal should contniue to sign the kinds of players their fans will embrace and their manager can manage. Top stars with big egos and big pay packets are beyond Mikel Arteta’s ability to manage – the gunners should stay strictly away from established ,big team stars like Asensio and seek out lesser known players who will be grateful to play for Arsenal and willing to listen to Mikel Arteta as if he were preaching the gospel. That’s what works for the club at the moment. They should continue on that path.
Asensio’s signing would signal that Arsenal’s hierarchy believe they are that one or two players from competing for a ittle; as Liverpool’s signing of Van Dijk and Allison did. Arsenal are not there yet. Another solid season, where they improve on their 21/22 finish, might find the Gunners ready for that key, over the top signing, but it can be tricky. Lukaku looked to be that signing for Chelsea, but the Blues are worse with Lukaku than they were without him. Ditto for Man U. The Red DEvils were progressing nicely with their younger players when they brought in Ronaldo. Since he came back, a host of the young guns developing under Solskjaer have noticably regressed.
With any luck at all, Arsenal will improve on their two consecutive 8th place finishes this season; with 4th possible, and 6th probably a worst-case scenario. Arsenal should sign players that will blend well with their philosophy. Asensio is not that kind of player. If he comes in he will expect to play every game and he will make more money than the players that carried the team in the last two seasons. That is a recipe for trouble, not harmony.