Fabrizio Romano delivers exciting Arsenal scouting update as Gunners’ prodigy may make painful Emirates exit

Arsenal fans would be pained to see their prodigy leave the Emirates but Unai Emery may be able to coax the star to work back under his leadership.
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It's crunch time for Arsenal after throwing away four points in the last two fixtures.

Twice in a row, Mikel Arteta's side has thrown away leads in the Premier League and, as a result, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have eaten up the gap between first and second.

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The visit of relegation-doomed Southampton to the Emirates on Friday night is a must-win match for Arsenal.

Here are the latest transfer rumours from North London.

Fabrizio Romano: Arsenal scouts watching two Real Sociedad stars

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has reported that Arsenal scouts are keeping close tabs on two Real Sociedad stars ahead of the summer window.

Martin Zubimendi and Robin Le Normand have caught the interest of Gunners' boss Mikel Arteta as he looks to strengthen the squad to compete in the Champions League as well as Premier League next term.

26-year-old Le Normand is being eyed up as a replacement for Rob Holding who hasn't quite deputised for the injured William Saliba as well as Arteta would have liked.

Zubimendi has said he won’t leave Real Sociedad but Arteta is still keen on the player (Image: Getty Images) Zubimendi has said he won’t leave Real Sociedad but Arteta is still keen on the player (Image: Getty Images)
Zubimendi has said he won’t leave Real Sociedad but Arteta is still keen on the player (Image: Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, the £52.5 million valued Zubimendi has been at Sociedad all his playing life and would be a major coup but the player himself pledged his future to the La Liga club in March.

Romano said: "Arsenal sent their scouts to follow both Martin Zubimendi and Robin Le Normand this year as they’re doing excellent with Real Sociedad, but nothing is concrete yet.

"The Gunners’ plans on new signings will be made in the next weeks, nothing is advanced yet. The price for Le Normand is the release clause: €50 million."

Adored Arsenal wonderkid could jump ship to Premier League rival

Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith-Rowe has somewhat of a cult following at the Emirates Stadium but has struggled for game time under Mikel Arteta this season.

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The 22-year-old suffered from a groin injury during the first half of the season and hasn't managed to claim a starting place in the starting XI since then.

Now, TalkSport reports that the player could be tempted by a link-up with former Gunners boss Unai Emery at Aston Villa.

Smith-Rowe made his Arsenal debut under the Spanish boss and Aston Villa had previously shown interest in his services when a £30 million bid was rejected in the summer of 2021.

With the Birmingham club set to back their new manager financially this summer, it is reported that Smith-Rowe will be a top target for the Champions League chasers.