Arsenal are on the verge of agreeing a deal to secure the signing of Arturo Vidal this summer, after his agent flew in to watch the Gunners in action.
The agent of the Juventus star was spotted at Wembley on Saturday afternoon, as the Gunners beat Aston Villa 4-0 to land a record 12th FA Cup trophy.
According to reports in the Gazzetta dello Sport, Vidal’s agent flew in to check out his clients potential new club before meeting with Arsenal officials to arrange a deal.
Vidal was heavily linked with the Gunners last year, after an impressive number of performances in the World Cup, but Wenger held off making Vidal a 6th major summer signing.
But following another consistent showing at Juventus, the Arsenal boss is ready to make his move for the 28-year-old, who could be available for around £28million.
Juventus would be reluctant to turn down a bid in that region, which would help fund moves for the likes of Edinson Cavani and slash their wage bill to complete a proposed deal for Sami Khedira.
The inclusion of Vidal could mean the departure of current Arsenal captain, Mikel Arteta, who has missed the majority of the season through injury and it’s thought the Spaniard will remain frozen out of the starting eleven next season.
A much more innocent explanation is that Vidal shares the same agent as PFA Fans’ Player of the Year, Alexis Sanchez, which could be the reason he was watching the game on Saturday afternoon.
However, the fellow Chilean is one of the main reasons that could persuade the midfielder to choose Arsenal over the likes of Manchester United or Liverpool.
With eight goals and four assists in all competitions this season, it wouldn’t take long for the midfielder to settle into life in England, especially with Alexis and Walcott at his dispense.
Following the FA Cup final, Arsene Wenger was asked whether he would be making a move for Vidal this summer, “We have good midfielders and at the moment we are not looking at Arturo Vidal.”
However, with Thomas Rosicky and Matthieu Flamini getting to the end of their contracts, the Arsenal boss will definitely have Vidal in the back of his mind.
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