Wilfried Zaha is set to leave Crystal Palace on a free transfer this summer, and Arsenal reportedly remain interested in the winger.
French outlet FootMercato report that Wilfried Zaha is refusing to extend his contract with Crystal Palace, leaving him open to a free transfer in the summer.
Arsenal are in the running, according to the claims, with a number of clubs from around Europe also showing an interest.
The winger wants to play in the Champions League, which seemingly rules out another move from Chelsea. The Blues pushed for Zaha’s signature last summer, but it would take a minor miracle for them to qualify for Europe’s top-tier competition.
Arsenal have been linked with Zaha plenty of times in the past, most notably during the summer of 2019, when Unai Emery wanted to sign the Palace man ahead of Nicolas Pepe.
The general feeling among Arsenal supporters is that the ship has probably sailed at this point, with Zaha now in his thirties. But there are reasons why the transfer could still happen.
Primarily, Zaha’s status as a free agent certainly makes the move more attractive.
Arsenal are likely to go big for a midfielder in the summer, and picking up a winger on a free transfer would be an easy way to free up funds.
The Gunners have also been focusing more on Premier-League-proven players in recent windows, adding Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Gabriel Jesus to the starting lineup, as well as players like Leandro Trossard and Jorginho.
On top of that, Zaha shares many of the attributes Mikel Arteta seems to look for in his forwards.
He’s versatile; capable of playing on the wings or centrally. He’s a strong dribbler, excelling when he has the chance to take defenders on in one-on-one situations.
He’s also a goal threat, scoring double figures in three of the last five Premier League seasons – with a few games left of this campaign to try and make it four out of five.
There’s always the question of whether he could replicate that in a team less focused around him. Palace very much play to Zaha’s strengths, and he wouldn’t get that luxury at Arsenal.
But we’ve seen with Trossard that a move from a mid-table club to one at the top of the league can actually enhance a player’s impact if the move is right.