With four days of the transfer window left, there are indications that there will be a flurry of moves before the window slams shut on the 31st, and Mikel Arteta has indicated that there is still work to be done by Arsenal.
At the end of last season, it was rumoured that Arsenal’s top three midfield targets were Odegaard, Buendia and Bissouma, and with MO already in the bag and Buendia moving to Aston Villa, there is only the self-proclaimed Arsenal fan Bissouma left on the list.
Although the rumours of Bissouma seemed to have died down after we signed his team-mate Ben White, the Sunday Times journalist Duncan Castles has revealed on the Transfer Window Podcast that Arsenal’s interest in Bissouma is far from over. “My information is that there are inquiries from Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal as to how much it would cost to sign him,” Castles said.
“Now he has improved significantly during his time at Brighton and what is quite important here is that his statistics are exceptionally good.
“We know that clubs – in particular United, Liverpool and Arsenal – are particularly heavy on this and use analytics as a filter to decide which players to pursue.”
Obviously, a top player like Bissouma would be expected to choose a Champions League team like United or Liverpool, but the fact that he is an Arsenal fan and has spent the last 3 years in the South of England could give the Gunners an advantage.
The Malian would certainly give Arteta many more options in midfield, but do we have any room to fit another one in unless we still have a couple of departures?