Reports linking Marcus Rashford with a move to Arsenal have been played down, with Mikel Arteta insisting the club won’t just bring in a body for the sake of it this month.
Rumours began circling earlier this week that Arsenal could be interested in a loan move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, with Italian reporters even claiming that the Gunners had made contact over the player.
“It seems that Arsenal have made a phone call to Manchester United for Rashford,” Massimo Marianella told Sky Italia (via Sport Witness). “The club has valued him at €25m.”
There’s also been plenty of talk of a possible loan move for Rashford, whether to Arsenal or elsewhere.
Yet English journalists have since played down the claims, with Alex Crook of talkSPORT writing that Arsenal aren’t currently in the race for Rashford. Crook added that it doesn’t feel like one Mikel Arteta would entertain.
Arteta spoke to the media about Arsenal and Manchester United on Friday, with the two teams set to contest an FA Cup clash this weekend. He was also asked about his club’s transfer business, responding that they need to focus on recruiting players who can make an impact now.
“First of all, [we’re looking for] someone that can impact the team, bringing in bodies doesn’t help us all,” Arteta said. “It’s just about somebody who can immediately impact our performance and can bring something that we don’t have. To find that in this market is very difficult to achieve.
“No (signing forward isn’t necessarily a priority), the circumstances change because we have certain injuries for some big players, so it’s always a possibility but always it’s about somebody that is really going to make us much better.”
Rashford certainly seems to be out of favour at Manchester United at the moment, failing to make any Premier League starts since December 1st. His last start in any competition was against Viktoria Plzen on December 12th, and he was withdrawn before the hour mark.
Since then, the 27-year-old has only featured in one of United’s six squads, though part of that was due to illness. He’s reportedly back in contention for his current club this weekend.
Rashford has 10 goal contributions in 24 matches this season, and a move this month appear likely. But Arsenal aren’t leading the chase as it stands.