Arsenal Hoping To Beat Rivals To £70m-Rated South American Duo

The summer transfer window is now open for business and it’s expected to be a busy few weeks as managers strengthen their squads ahead of next season, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Arsenal are linked with a stunning double swoop.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is hoping to beat Liverpool and Manchester United to the signing of £70m-rated Chilean duo Alexis Sanchez and Artruo Vidal this summer, according to reports today.

The Gunners have been strongly linked with Sanchez in recent days with widespread reports suggesting they have submitting an opening bid for the 25-year-old after Barcelona made it clear they were willing to listen to offers. Exactly how much the north Londoners tabled is open to debate, but the Telegraph seem to think it was just £22m, which falls short of Barca’s £30m valuation.

Liverpool also expressed their interest in the attacker during talks with Barcelona officials on Wednesday when they discussed the future of Luis Suarez, but some media outlets suggest that Sanchez would prefer a move to the Emirates and isn’t interested in being part of any player-plus-cash swap deal that would take him to Anfield.

Whether that’s the case or not remains to be seen, but the Telegraph claim that Arsenal remain hopeful of luring Sanchez to the Emirates as Arsene Wenger looks to bring in a top class forward to compete with Olivier Giroud next season.

Sanchez has predominantly played out wide at club level, but he’s just enjoyed an excellent World Cup playing as a central striker for Chile, so he’s more than capable of playing that role if needed and would give Wenger a lot of options in attack next season if he’s successful in signing the pacey forward.

Also on Wenger’s agenda this summer is a central midfielder to replace Mikel Arteta and the Telegraph claim that the Frenchman has his eye on Juventus ace Arturo Vidal – who has attracted interest from Manchester United in recent weeks – but the Serie A champions will demand £40m to cash-in on the Chilean international.

Although he has upward of £100m available to spend this summer, that kind of money might be too steep for Wenger, particularly if he’s successful in landing Sanchez, so the report suggests he’s lined-up a list of cheaper alternatives in case Juve refuse to lower their asking price, with the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin, Lars Bender and Luis Gustavo all on his radar.

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Vidal would be a sensational signing for the Gunners but United would likely step up their interest if Juventus dropped the asking price, while there would also be interest from abroad, so it’s going to be an extremely difficult deal to pull off.

Sanchez appears far more likely at this point but I’m sure there is still a few twists and turns left before his future is resolved, so we’ll have to keep a close eye on it and let you know how things develop over the coming days and weeks.