Exclusive: Arsenal join race to sign 'one of the world's best players' who is stalling on new contract talks

09/17/2024 03:35 AM

• EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey

Arsenal welcomed four new faces to the club this summer, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino both signed permanently along with loan deals for Raheem Sterling and Neto.

Edu was aiming to improve the squad depth available to Mikel Arteta at Arsenal across the season, which was previously deemed insufficient.

Unfortunately, injuries to Calafiori and Merino have curtailed their benefit for now, but the duo should be immensely important across the long campaign ahead.

That being said, considering the players Arsenal also let go this summer, the club's net spend appeared to be relatively minor, possibly paving the way for some big moves next summer.

And with that in mind, TBR Football understands that Arsenal have joined the race to sign Jamal Musiala from Bayern Munich.

Arsenal keeping close tabs on Jamal Musiala’s contract situation at Bayern

Musiala, who once again impressed at the Euros for Germany, has less than two-years remaining on his Bayern contract, with the club now working hard to tie him down to a new deal.

The 21-year-old has emerged as 'one the world's best players' of late despite his young age, and Bayern understandably see the attacking midfielder as a crucial part of their project going forward.

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Bayern want to bring in Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz to play alongside Musiala in the future, a duo which is already working well for the national team.

However, to form that pairing, the Bavarian club need to keep Musiala and talks are ongoing over a new deal, but a breakthrough has not come despite talks commencing last year.

Bayern are aware that Musiala has been attracting interest from a number of clubs, with Manchester City and Liverpool being long-term admirers.

And now Musiala has emerged as someone of interest to Arsenal, who are watching the midfielder's situation closely.

Musiala could solve a number of problems at Arsenal

Of course, were Arsenal able to achieve a remarkable deal to bring Musiala to the Emirates, the German midfielder would improve Arteta's starting XI significantly.

The former Chelsea youngster could play as Arsenal's left side eight, in the number 10 role or on the left-wing – a very versatile addition.

It remains to be seen what kind of fee Bayern would demand for the youngster were he to end up leaving the club, but it could be of the Declan Rice echelon.

Either way, signing Musiala is the kind of opportunity that any elite club can't miss, a player who genuinely has Ballon d'Or type potential.

That being said, Arsenal are currently in contract talks with one of their own stars right now, who is attracting interest from Paris Saint-Germain.