Romano says Arsenal ‘active till the end’ as Arteta ‘explores alternatives’ after transfer snub
Arsenal will be “active till the end” of the transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano, who claims the club are “exploring alternatives” to Raphinha.
Oleksandr Zinchenko was the Gunners’ fifth acquisition of the summer following deals for Matt Turner, Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus.
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But Romano says the north London club still have areas of their squad they’re looking to improve, including in central midfield and on the wing.
They’ve been heavily linked with a move for Leicester star Youri Tielemans, and the transfer expert claims a winger is still a priority after they missed out on top target Raphinha, who’s moved to Barcelona from Leeds.
“Arsenal will be active till the end, honestly,” Romano told the Wondergoal Podcast.
“As you mentioned Tielemans is a player that they’ve always been interested in but let’s see what happens with wingers because they wanted Raphinha so they’ve been exploring other alternatives in that position.
“So if something good will appear in the market, it could be a possibility.”
Romano says manager Mikel Arteta is not interested in “players they don’t trust” and is willing to be patient to secure the right options.
“We know that for example, in January they wanted Dusan Vlahovic. They were not able to sign Dusan Vlahovic because the player wanted to join Juventus. And then they decided to wait. Wait in the market till June to sign Gabriel Jesus who was the second target.
“So, they’re not going to waste money on players that they don’t trust. This is why Arsenal wanted Lisandro, who joined Man Utd, because Lisandro could play in many different positions.
“So Arteta is looking for this kind of player.”
On the arrival of Zinchenko, Arteta said: “As you’ve seen he is here. There are still a few formalities to get everything completed but we’re really happy to have him.
“I know the player really well, he’s an exceptional footballer and he is someone that is going to bring as well another competitive edge to that dressing room.”
On whether Zinchenko is likely to feature more often as a left-back or central midfielder, Arteta said: “Both, he can play in both. He was a natural No. 10 early in his career and we converted him into a left back which can do a lot of things that we want in our way of playing.
“That versatility is something that is going to be important for the team because we have players in that position who are more specific full back so I’m really happy.
“It’s one of the things and the way we can adapt structures, formations and rotations within the squad and playing with the same players in a different way. To be more unpredictable is obviously important and that is why we have recruited those players.”
