Iconic former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell wants to see Ruben Neves join the club.
According to Sport, Mikel Arteta has asked the club hierarchy at Arsenal to make a move to sign Ruben Neves in the upcoming January transfer window.
The Portuguese ace only joined Al Hilal in the recent summer transfer window, with the Saudi Arabian outfit paying £47 million to secure his services from Wolves.
Transfer journalist David Ornstein recently claimed that the Saudi Arabian club would be reluctant to part with the Portuguese ace so soon after signing him. However, Arteta clearly still holds out hope that an agreement with Al Hilal can be reached.
Arsenal are certainly on the look out for a new midfielder. Thomas Partey needs to be moved on as he can no longer be relied upon to be fit and available when needed. On top of that, there are doubts over Jorginho’s contractual situation, and Mohamed Elneny is also coming towards the end of his playing career.
A long-term partner for Declan Rice in the middle of the park has to be high up on Arteta’s shopping list. However, Arsenal will only have a modest transfer budget available to them this winter, which adds another layer of difficulty to the task of sealing Neves’ signature.
Arsenal encouraged to push for Ruben Neves
Kevin Campbell believes that the north London club ought to push to get a deal done, though. The former striker, who made over 200 appearances for Arsenal in his playing career, said on the Highbury Squad YouTube channel, “we’ve been linked with him for a number of seasons haven’t we? Considering his age and how good he is it’s one that makes perfect sense.”
“He’s young enough, he’s good enough to play a lot of games in there for us. I think this is a good move.”
Neves would be an excellent addition to the Arsenal squad. The 45-cap Portugal international has proven that he can flourish at Premier League level before, and seems a suitable tactical fit for how Arteta wants his team to play. He is excellent on the ball and is happy to receive possession under pressure, boasts a great range of passing, and has an eye for goal.
Whether Arsenal are able to strike a deal for Neves in January remains to be seen. He is not the only target the Gunners are eyeing up. Arteta is also keen on Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz. However, the Midlands outfit are also reluctant to part with one of their star players.
The only thing that is clear at this stage is that Arsenal face an uphill battle when it comes to securing any of their top targets in this winter window.
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