A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Mikel Arteta debates signing Al-Ittihad ace Karim Benzema in a January transfer and learns two Hale End talents are ‘different’.
Arsenal discuss a loan transfer for Chelsea target Karim Benzema
Discussions are now underway at Emirates Stadium about a potential transfer to Arsenal for Al-Ittihad striker Benzema. That is according to TEAMtalk, which also notes that Chelsea are holding internal meetings about a January deal for the five-time Champions League winner.
The Premier League rivals are both in the market for a new centre-forward over the January sales. So, Arteta is studying a loan approach but Arsenal may struggle to afford the lucrative salary Benzema earns in Saudi Arabia. He quit Real Madrid for the Pro League outfit last July.
Benzema has scored 12 goals and laid on five assists across the 36-year-old’s 20 games for Al-Ittihad so far. The 2022 Ballon d’Or recipient also scored 31 and assisted six goals over 43 games in his final season for Real Madrid. Now, he could return to Europe and fly to London.
The Evening Standard also adds that Benzema has now put Arsenal and Chelsea on red alert as he is open to leaving Al-Ittihad. The 97-cap France star also believes a move to England in January is possible. But his Pro League side are currently reluctant to sanction any transfer.
Read more about Arsenal’s interest in Benzema’s transfer from Al-Ittihad, here.
Arsenal are ‘ones to watch’ in the Victor Osimhen transfer race
Arsenal will be ‘ones to watch’ in the summer transfer window as teams battle it out to sign Napoli talisman Victor Osimhen. That is according to HITC Football’s transfer expert Graeme Bailey, who adds that Chelsea are ‘fearful’ of which clubs will target the Nigerian’s signature.
Osimhen is likely to be one of the hottest tickets on the market at the end of this campaign. He has scored seven goals and laid on two assists in only 13 Serie A appearances so far this season. The 25-year-old also struck and made a goal in Group C of the Champions League.
Bailey has now told Arsenal Insider that the Gunners will have the funds to target Osimhen’s transfer this summer. But Arteta and sporting director Edu are still yet to decide if they want to break the club’s transfer record in successive summer sales after Declan Rice’s arrival.
Osimhen has only just signed a new contract at Napoli last December that includes a $143m (£113m) release clause. It also ties the striker down at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona through to June 2026. The striker has been in Naples since leaving Lille in September 2020.
Read more about what Bailey has had to say about Arsenal’s interest in Osimhen, here.
Breathtaking Hale End gems Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly are ‘different’
Former Arsenal scout Yousuf Sajjad believes Hale End duo Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are ‘different’. He has admitted that the pair took his breath away whilst working with the Arsenal academy set-up. But the real challenge starts now as they look to reach the top.
Defensive midfielder Lewis-Skelly joined the Gunners’ renowned Hale End set-up at the age of nine. The 17-year-old is now a key cog in their Under-21 side and on the fringes of a spot in Arteta’s first-team. He has only sporadically featured on the senior squad’s bench to date.
Attacking midfielder Nwaneri is also on the fringes of Arteta’s first-team but he has made a senior Arsenal outing. The 16-year-old enjoyed his sole appearance so far against Brentford in September 2022. But he and Lewis-Skelly have breathtaking potential to thrive at Arsenal.
Sajjad told football.london: “There’s a few players where you see them once and you think, ‘Wow! These guys are different’. Whether that’s at 14, 15 [or] 16 I feel like you can see that.
“There’s very few times that you can just look and say these guys have the real ability to go all the way. But, listen, they’ve been well spoken about and we know how highly rated they are. The next part is always the hardest: to try and fulfil that.”
Read more about what Sajjad has had to say about Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly, here.
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