Arsenal 'eye' sensational signing who Pep Guardiola claims ‘has everything a top player needs’

Mikel Arteta has helped Arsenal re-establish themselves as one of England’s leading clubs, and while he is firmly focusing on guiding the Gunners to their first league title since the invincible season in 2004, there is also a great deal of working going on behind the scenes to ensure that the North London outfit become even stronger next time around.

Arsenal have invested heavily in their playing staff in recent years and will continue that trend this summer with an ambitious move for Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich, according to reports from Football Transfers.

The outlet understands that Kimmich is one of Arteta’s top summer targets, though Bayern are refusing to have any dialogue with the Gunners until the end of the season.

Kimmich has established himself as one of the top midfielders in European football over the last decade and has been a key part of Bayern Munich since his £7m arrival from Stuttgart in January 2015 when Pep Guardiola was in charge of the club.

The now Manchester City boss said at the time of Kimmich’s arrival that he was a promising player and someone that had ‘everything’ a player would need to succeed. 

“He is very intelligent, always aggressive toward the ball, strong in the air, has an eye for free space, has superb vision and knows when to charge forward and when to sit back.” The former Bayern Munich boss said.

Kimmich has more than lived up to Guardiola’s predictions over the last nine years. As it stands, he has made 255 league appearances and counting - winning eight Bundesliga titles, three DFP Pokals, the UEFA Champions League and the Club World Cup. In addition to this, he has represented Germany 84 times and notably earned himself a place in the Euro 2016 team of the tournament.

Kimmich’s performances have drawn comparisons to former Man City captain Ilkay Gunodgan, while other German pundits have compared him to Phillip Lahm for his ability to seamlessly slot into multiple areas of the pitch - including full back and centre back.

Arteta is a huge fan of multi-faceted players as we have seen with Ben White and Oleksandar Zinchenko, and it appears that Kimmich would offer world class versatility to a team hoping to challenge on all fronts for the foreseeable future.

Understandably, Bayern Munich are keen to retain Kimmich’s services, although it is worth noting that the player’s contract expires in the summer of 2025, and as of yet no deal has been agreed between the player and the Bavarian club.

Football Transfers understand Kimmich wants to become the top earner at Bayern so that his salary matches that of Harry Kane, while media outlets such as Sky Germany understand that the 33-time champions may cash in on the 29-year-old in the summer, rather than allowing him to move on for a free transfer. Kimmich is expected to feature against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium when the two teams meet in the Champions League quarter-final.