After David Ornstein’s claims that Unai Emery and Arsenal are trying to move Mesut Özil on, let’s have a look at some of the players they’ve been linked with in his place for this summer.
4Yannick Carrasco
- Age: 21
- Position: Left Winger
- Club: DL Yifang
- Contract until: 2021
- Estimated market value: £18m
Carrasco is a winger, rather than a number 10 like Özil, but that might actually help him fit better in Unai Emery’s system. Either way, he would replace some of the creativity Arsenal would lose without the German. Carrasco notched 16 assists in 54 games for Atletico Madrid and Dalian Yifang in the last season and a half, as well as 11 goals.
Sky Sports pundit and Belgian football expert Kristof Terreur spoke to the Transfer Talk Podcast and admitted that the 25-year-old has been offered to Arsenal. He added that it was going to be difficult for Arsenal to finance such a move in January, but didn’t rule out the possibility of a summer transfer, confirming that the club are looking for a winger.
Some other recent reports went even further. There have been claims that Arsenal are in ‘advanced talks’ to sign the winger, with his wife suggesting clubs like the Gunners and Manchester United are ‘very interested’. Rumours last week suggested Arsenal had held a ‘successful meeting’ with Carrasco’s agent.
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