Bukayo Saka’s injury in the international break sent the alarm bells ringing in London with Arsenal sweating over the fitness of their star boy. The setback suffered by him on duty with England, though minor, was a reminder of the club needing to sign a back-up option for a player who has arguably been overworked in recent years.
One of Mikel Arteta’s top priorities is likely to be the acquisition of a right winger and as per journalist Ekrem Konur, the Gunners boss is plotting a reunion with Bayern Munich star Leroy Sane. The duo have already worked together at Manchester City, where they won the Premier League twice before the German added three more league titles in the Bundesliga.
Sane’s contract at Bayern Munich expires next summer and though the Bavarians are keen on prolonging his stay at the Allianz Arena, it would be at the condition of the player reducing his current wage.
Understandably, Sane is reluctant to lower his salary and the situation has alerted Arsenal with the Londoners eyeing a bargain swoop for the German international in 2025. Signing Sane – who’s valued at around £50m by Transfermarkt – on a free transfer would be a superb piece of business by the Gunners.
However, Arsenal face competition as Barcelona and Newcastle United are also alerted by the 28-year-old’s possible availability, Konur has reported.
Arsenal unlikely to prioritise Sane
Bukayo Saka is very much the primary right winger under Mikel Arteta and even a player of Sane’s calibre might not be able to usurp the Englishman to a starting role at Arsenal. Therefore, the Gunners may be reluctant on paying Sane the wage he is looking for even if he were to arrive on a free transfer. For context, he is paid roughly £320,000 per week at Bayern Munich.
It will be interesting to see what alternate options the Premier League giants pursue with Sane’s wage likely to be beyond their budget, especially for a secondary player, but it looks like a specialist striker’s signing could still alleviate some pressure off Saka as Gabriel Jesus might then be used in place of him on the right flank.
Eberechi Eze has been another player that has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium and though Crystal Palace will not let go of him without pocketing a windfall, his purchase would still be a cheaper overall transaction than Sane’s.
It will be exciting to see how exactly Arteta finds the solution to adding a back-up for Saka, though things may have to wait until next summer as opposed to being resolved in January.
