Mikel Arteta appears to be looking to take Arsenal back to the very top with some ambitious transfer targets.
In the summer we saw Arsenal stunningly pull off the surprise signing of the summer when they convinced Thomas Partey to join in a deal worth around £50million.
Now Arteta is looking at other areas to strengthen and the right back slot looks the next area of focus for him and Edu. According to The Telegraph(£) Arsenal and Chelsea are monitoring the situation of Inter Milan defender Achraf Hakimi. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the club linked with a move for Hakimi with David Ornstein reporting last month that the Gunners have a long term interest in the player.
Signing Hakimi would be some coup for Arsenal as he is widely regarded as one of the best wing backs in Europe. He joined Inter Milan for £34million last summer and any suitors could expect to pay more than this, with the Moroccan valued at £45million by transfermarkt.
Arsenal would surely struggle to beat off competition for the 22-year-old, who is able to play as a right back, right wing back, right midfielder or even on the left.
He currently plays as a right wing back for Inter Milan and has bagged 6 goals and 4 assists this season. His attacking qualities are brilliant and he notched 9 goals and 10 assists for Borussia Dortmund last season, including 4 goals in the Champions League. All this at the age of 22, so despite a big asking price, he looks a good investment.
Hakimi isn’t likely to be cheap but the fee for Arsenal shouldn’t be a problem. The Gunners could raise funds from the sales of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Hector Belleirn, leaving them with Hakimi and Cedric as options on the right. ESPN reported last month that Bellerin could leave Arsenal this summer and Maitland-Niles is now on loan at West Brom and not expected to have a long term future at the club. Sales of both these players could feasibly raise around £40million which could be enough to secure the signature of Hakimi.