Arsenal ‘leading race’ for winger and ‘eye’ bargain Aubameyang replacement

The race for a top-four finish in the Premier League this season looks like it’ll be going to the wire, with Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United all battling for Champions League football.

On the back of winning six of seven games, Arsenal’s top-four hopes looked dead and buried when they suffered three straight defeats at the end of Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton.

However, led by an inspired Eddie Nketiah performance, Mikel Arteta’s men showed their quality at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening by defeating the Champions League champions themselves 4-2.

With fixtures against all three of their rivals coming up, Arsenal have seven games to earn a return to European’s grand stage for the first time since 2017.

Ahead of a busy summer transfer window, here are the latest rumours involving Arsenal.

Improvements in midfield

Against Chelsea, Mohamed Elneny started in midfield alongside Granit Xhaka and performed considerably well, but midfield is certainly an area that needs boasting this summer - especially if they accomplish a top-four finish.

One man who has been involved in rumours involving the Gunners is Bayern Munich’s Marcel Sabitzer. According to reports in Germany, the Austrian midfielder has struggled to earn a regular first-team spot at the Allianz Arena.

After joining from RB Leipzig as a powerhouse and one of the most-rated players in the Bundesliga, Sabitzer has only made 24 appearances this season, with most of them off the bench in a competitive midfield including Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich.

German magazine SportBild have stated that he will be one of the players who will be ‘allowed to go’ in the summer.

Flying Dutchman

It has been reported that Stan Kroenke will back Arteta this summer and one of the positions that the Spaniard wants to bolster is the winger position.

And according to Voetbal International, the Gunners are current the frontrunners to sign PSV man Cody Gakpo. The 22-year-old has scored 18 goals and assisted a further 15 this season and has caught the eye for his performances.

Gakpo recently guided PSV to a Dutch Cup final victory over Ajax and at only 22, has years left to get better and better.

De Telegraaf journalist Valentijn Driessen claimed in his column that Gakpo and Manchester United-target Ryan Gravenberch ‘did better business on the way to their foreign adventure’ with their performance in the final.

Aubameyang replacement?

Arsenal’s failure to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang following his move to Barcelona meant Arteta had little to choose from in Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette for the second part of the season.

Despite Nketiah’s double against Chelsea, the English striker’s future looks like it’ll lie elsewhere, meaning at least one striker is required and one who could be considered is Juventus’ Paulo Dybala.

Italian outlet TuttoMercato have claimed that the Gunners will compete with Inter and Atletico this summer to secure the services of the number nine.

The Argentine forward’s contract expires in Italy this summer and currently has three offers on the table. Inter Milan want to bring him to San Siro, with Atletico Madrid rivalling Arsenal in purchasing him on a cheap compared to the price for Lautaro Martinez.