Arsenal focussed on landing £20m star as Emery looks to secure 2nd summer signing

Managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads during the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Here, Arsenal are back on the trail of Ryan Fraser…..

Arsenal have renewed their efforts to try and sign £20m-rated Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser after failing to agree a deal with Crystal Palace for Wilfried Zaha, according to the Mirror.

Unai Emery is desperate to strengthen his options out wide this summer and Zaha has been identified as a prime target but the newspaper says we’re refusing to meet Palace’s £80m valuation after seeing our £40m opening bid rejected.

With the Eagles determined not to sell for anything less than their asking price and Emery working on a tight £45m budget this summer, it looks like any hopes of luring Zaha to the Emirates are dead in the water.

Therefore, the Mirror says Arsenal have now switched their focus back to trying to sign Fraser after being heavily linked with the Scottish international at the start of the summer.

The 25-year-old has just one year left on his contract and has made it clear he won’t sign an extension so the newspaper says Bournemouth will reluctantly cash-in for around £20m rather than risk losing him for nothing in 12 months time.

That kind of money makes Fraser a tempting option for Emery given his tight budget this summer as he’d be a lot cheaper than Zaha and he’s also just come off the back of an excellent campaign.

The Bournemouth winger scored 8 goals and contributed a further 15 assists in all competitions last season so he’d certainly provide some much-needed creativity from out wide if Arsenal were able to get a deal agreed.

Fraser may not be the most glamorous signing but he’s proven in the Premier League and £20m would be an excellent piece of business in today’s market for a player of his quality so I think it would be a shrewd signing.

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If we could land Fraser for around £20m, Emery could then use the rest of his transfer budget to strengthen other areas of the squad rather than leaving himself short of funds by blowing the whole lot on Zaha.