After losing the first game of the season to visitors Liverpool, Arsenal are keen to add strength to their defence and are currently in contention of roping in Uruguayan defender Jose Gimenez from Spanish club Atletico Madrid. A reported fee of £40 million was agreed upon between the two clubs.
Arsene Wenger has had serious problems in his back line in recent times, and with the Premier League just kicking-off he would like to strengthen his fragile defence. With Per Mertesacker and Gabriel sidelined due to injury, and Laurent Koscielny still regaining match fitness, the Arsenal boss was forced to include youngsters like Rob Holding and Calum Chambers last Sunday at the Emirates against the Merseyside club.
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The London-based club finished second last season, missing out the title by a massive 10-point margin which. The last time Arsenal won the Premier League was back in 2003-04 during the “The Invincibles” era and have struggled for titles since then, having won only two FA Cups in 12 years.
Jose Gimenez has been a part of defence at Vincente Calderon Stadium for the past few years having made 48 starts for Atletico. In the international arena, he made his debut for Uruguay during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Colombia back in 2013. His most memorable moment at the Spanish capital was scoring a goal against arch-rivals Real Madrid during a Copa Del Rey clash last year.
It was also learnt as per the reports of the telegraph.co.uk that Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi may be on a possible move to the Emirates Stadium for the 2016-17 seasons. As per the latest statement of Valencia’s director of football Jesús García Pitarch, it is clear that they are flooded with defenders and wants to curtail the squad. He said, “We’re above the FFP guidelines, that’s the reality, and as of today, the four players we’ve signed cannot be registered, meaning we need to reduce the cost in a significant manner to register the players and sign a centre-back, which is a priority in case one of the ones at our club leaves.
“Obviously, if they don’t leave, we can’t sign a new one not only because of financial restrictions but also because it wouldn’t be logical to have five or six centre-backs. We need to continue with a reduced budget, but if there’s an exit, we need a new centre-back” he added.
German club Hertha Berlin is keen on signing winger Serge Gnabry from Arsenal, who has performed consistently in the on-going Olympic Games for Germany.
