Arsenal open talks with PSG over ‘obvious fit’ for Arteta as report details key to deal
Arsenal have opened talks with Paris Saint-Germain over a move for midfielder Fabian Ruiz, according to reports.
Ruiz was named in the UEFA team of the tournament at Euro 2024, scoring twice and assisting twice on the way to Spain’s record fourth title.
Things haven’t gone quite so smoothly at club level for Ruiz though following his £20m move from Napoli to PSG in the summer of 2022.
He’s won two Ligue 1 titles and the Coupe de France in his two seasons with the French giants but has struggled to nail down a spot in the first XI, starting just 14 league games last term and just four in the last 14.
It’s a mystifying lack of game time given how brilliant he was for Spain in Germany this summer, and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta saw enough in that tournament to convince him that the 28-year-old is the right fit for Arsenal, despite ‘everything indicating’ one of Ruiz’s compatriots is also on his way to the Emirates.
Transfer expert Duncan Castles has revealed that the Gunners have ‘initiated discussions’ with PSG over a move for the midfielder, and claimed on The Transfers Podcast that he is an “obvious fit” for Arteta, given both his quality on the ball and his pressing ability.
“For someone a Premier League club are looking at, he won more balls than anyone else at the tournament and won twice as many in the final third of the pitch as any other player,” said Duncan Castles on The Transfers Podcast.
“So you’ve got that pressing ability, which is fundamental to the way [Mikel] Arteta plays. He passes the ball accurately, beats opponents one on one. In many ways, he looks like an obvious fit to that Arsenal system.”
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Ruiz is currently valued by Transfermarkt at €35m and it’s thought they could come to an agreement with PSG for the deal to be structured in a similar way as the one they used to bring David Raya in from Brentford – a loan move with an obligation to but in a years’ time.
The report does though claim that a move for Ruiz is ‘dependent on Arsenal moving a midfield player out’.
Whether Emile Smith Rowe’s imminent move to Fulham meets that criteria isn’t clear, and other reports have claimed they may also be willing to listen to offers for Jorginho, Thomas Partey or Fabio Vieira.
Fabrizio Romano claimed on Thursday that Arsenal and Fulham were close to agreeing a deal for Smith Rowe.
The transfer expert wrote on X: ‘Fulham have sent new bid to Arsenal for Emile Smith-Rowe. Proposal worth up to £35m as reported by @David_Ornstein, talks ongoing between the two clubs with player open to the move. Fulham, ahead of Crystal Palace now and pushing to get it done.’