Saka injury ‘sparks’ Arsenal interest in January move for £60m Wolves star
Matheus Cunha beat Andre Onana direct from a corner as Wolves took the lead against Manchester United on Thursday, and come January the Brazilian could be playing for Arsenal.
The Gunners are now interested in signing Cunha in January with Bukayo Saka’s injury ‘sparking’ them into action.
Saka was forced off against Crystal Palace with a hamstring problem, in what is a significant blow for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.
“It’s not looking good,” said Arteta. “He’s going to be out for many weeks.
“It is what it is. He’s injured, we cannot change it. We’re going to use this time now to help him.”
Ahead of their crushing 5-1 win over Palace, Arteta’s side were accused of lacking attacking thrust and those doubting their title credentials pointed to their reliance on Saka and captain Martin Odegaard as a significant problem.
With that in mind, according to The Telegraph, Arsenal have ramped up their already held interest in Cunha ahead of the January transfer window.
Cunha joined Wolves from Atletico Madrid two years ago – when Arsenal were also linked with the Brazilian – signing permanently for £44m after an initial season-long loan.
He’s ‘been on Arsenal’s radar’ across the last three campaigns, with his 14 goals and eight assists last term catching the eye ahead of particularly brilliant displays in the current campaign, with the 25-year-old already managing nine goals and three assists despite playing in a faltering Wolves side.
Those struggles for the West Midlands side means they ‘are thought to be extremely reluctant to let one of their key players leave in January’.
Instead they’re looking for Cunha – who’s also been linked with a move to Manchester United – to extend his contract, which currently has two years left to run.
That said, separate reports claim an offer of £50m-£60m may be enough for interested parties to lure him from Molineux mid-season.
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Arsenal take on Ipswich on Friday as they look to take advantage of Chelsea’s surprise defeat to Fulham to move ahead of the Blues into second place.
And with Raheem Sterling suffering a knee injury in training, Arteta hinted ahead of the visit of the Tractor Boys that players may have to play out of their most comfortable positions for them to cope with the absentees.
Arteta said: “We started the season with one of the thinnest squads in the Premier League, and we knew that.
“If we have the thinnest squad, what do we need? We really dug into that to make sure that we utilise every player in the best possible potential, and everybody has to feel part of it.
“You need to rediscover players in different positions, and different relationships. It’s a really good exercise and the boys are willing to do anything we demand them to do, so that’s a really good thing, too.”
