da bwin： Arsenal chief Edu Gaspar could repeat one of his best transfer deals this summer…
What's the latest on Arsenal's interest in Joao Cancelo?
da aviator aposta： The Gunners have been mooted as a potential destination for Manchester City star Joao Cancelo in recent months and now journalist Dean Jones has given his thoughts on the situation to GIVEMESPORT.
"The Cancelo situation is going to get interesting as we get to the end of the season as it seems clear Bayern are not going to take up an option to buy him and the rumoured Arsenal interest makes sense on many levels," he said.
"They are looking for a full-back; he can play either side in that sense. They obviously have Zinchenko playing a very particular role from there, but we know he can do that. Arsenal are also on the lookout for new central midfield options, but Zinchenko actually wants to play there more too.
"The successful integration of [Gabriel] Jesus and Zinchenko from Man City adds to the intrigue. But we have to factor in what the investment would have to be and whether his personality is also a fit with the team. Both are crucial in terms of Arsenal and their ongoing recruitment strategy so even if they do show genuine interest, there’s a lot to take into consideration."
Should Arsenal make a move for Joao Cancelo?
Whether Arsenal go onto win the title or not, a move for Cancelo would make the world of sense for numerous reasons.
Just as Jones outlines, the familiarity between Mikel Arteta and players that have played for City has aided a seamless transition to life in the capital. The Portuguese sensation would also add bags of experience in Europe, where the Gunners should be back in the Champions League for the first time since 2017.
Across spells at Valencia, Juventus, City and Bayern Munich, Cancelo has registered one appearance shy of the 50-mark in the competition, whilst he's won two Premier Leagues and one Scudetto too.
The 28-year-old, who is currently valued in the region of £52m by FootballTransfers, joined the Bundesliga champions on loan in January, having fallen out of favour under Pep Guardiola and has already become their fifth-best performer domestically, with four goal contributions from just seven starts, via WhoScored.
His ability to play on either flank, as well as that inverted wing-back role, makes him an ideal fit for Arteta and his system in north London.
A career average of two tackles, 1.5 interceptions, one key pass and one shot per game, and the defender ranking inside the top 4% for key passing, dribbling and shooting metrics per 90, when compared to his positional peers across Europe, very much backs up that all-round ability.
It's perhaps little surprise to see his former Etihad Stadium colleagues laud him with a whole multitude of superlatives – Guardiola hailed him as "a special talent", Phil Foden dubbed him "sensational" and Jack Grealish claimed that "he's just a joke."
Cancelo is also comparable to Zinchenko, via FBref's statistical model, which only adds further weight to Edu repeating last summer's heroics in the transfer market as Arteta would be getting another absolute machine capable of playing left-back and in the engine room – one with title-winning and European experience.
As such, the arrival of the Portugal international would undoubtedly be one hell of a signing if the Brazilian sporting director can pull it off at the end of the season.