Arsenal had a ‘big interest’ in £100m star but now he’s closer to joining Manchester United, it’s not Benjamin Sesko

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Like every summer, Arsenal have monitored several different players on the market before making the moves that they have in this transfer window.

The Gunners have been busy, adding six players to Mikel Arteta’s ranks, including the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi.

Despite their spending already closing in on the £200 million mark, the North Londoners reportedly still want to acquire one more forward player before the window shuts.

Eberechi Eze is at the top of Arsenal’s list, although they’ll likely have a number of alternative options that they’re also exploring.

• READ MORE: Confirmed Arsenal summer 2025 transfer ins and outs, signings and done deals

Arsenal were interested in signing Carlos Baleba

Arsenal have undergone something of a rebuild in their defensive midfield department this summer.

Jorginho and Thomas Partey have left, while Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard have arrived from Real Sociedad and Brentford, respectively.

Zubimendi signed for £55 million in July and is expected to be the Gunners’ first-choice option at the base of their midfield.

A deal for the Spaniard has been in place since January, although he wasn’t the only player Arsenal were seriously considering.

According to journalist Jordan Davies, Carlos Baleba, who is now a primary target for Manchester United, was the subject of interest from the Gunners.

“Oh, I think it would be an incredible move [Baleba to United],” Davies said on the Transfers Exposed podcast.

“I mean, you think of Manchester United now and what they’ve been lacking in their midfield in terms of dynamism, pace, power. He’s got the lot.

“I mean, other clubs have been looking at him. Arsenal had a big interest in him, similar to [Yves] Bissouma as well, when he was there, where we were looking into midfielders.

“But you look at Arsenal midfield now and they’ve got so much competition, so they kind of moved away from that.”

Carlos Baleba would have been an exceptional signing for Arsenal

Zubimendi has impressed in pre-season for Arsenal and looks to be an astute pick-up from the Gunners at £55 million.

That said, Baleba has the potential to become one of the best midfielders in the world, and is arguably already one of the best in the Premier League.

Brighton have supposedly placed a £100 million price tag on the Cameroonian, who only turned 21 in January.

This price tag speaks volumes about the youngster’s ceiling, and certainly suggests he would’ve been an outstanding addition to Arteta’s squad.

However, Arsenal had too much to do this summer to allocate £100 million of their budget to one player, let alone a midfielder, and thus, were right to walk away from this one and pivot to Zubimendi.