Arsenal and Manchester City have been fierce rivals on the pitch over the last few years.
The clubs went toe-to-toe for the Premier League title in the last two seasons, and that animosity carried on to this campaign as well.
Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola could battle it out in the transfer market too this summer, but as things stand, the City boss appears to have an edge in one deal.
That’s because one of Arsenal’s targets was in England on Tuesday – not to speak to them but to negotiate with Manchester City.
Arsenal target Florian Wirtz was in England to speak to Man City
Florian Wirtz is one of the best players in Europe right now.
The Germany international has been ‘outstanding‘ for Bayer Leverkusen over the last two years, and he has been linked with a move to several clubs as a result.
TBR Football revealed Manchester City’s concrete interest in Wirtz all the way back in December last year, and Guardiola’s side are pushing.
We also revealed in April that Arsenal and Liverpool are still contenders to sign Wirtz, even though Manchester City and Bayern Munich were the clubs leading the race.
Now, in what is bad news for Arteta and Arne Slot, City may have taken a big step in landing Wirtz after holding face-to-face talks with him on Tuesday.
That’s according to Christian Falk, who said on his website CF Bayern Insider: “I understand Wirtz was in England on Tuesday to take part in negotiations with Manchester City.
“The footballer travelled with his father, Hans-Joachim Wirtz, and mother, Karin Groß. The English outfit has also made an offer to Leverkusen. This could come close to meeting Bayer’s €150 million [£126.1m] price tag.
“The Bundesliga side would prefer to offload the former FC Köln star to the Premier League as opposed to strengthening a direct rival. FC Bayern now have a big rival in the poker for Wirtz’s signature.”
Can Arsenal still sign Wirtz?
In football, anything is possible, but Arsenal’s chances of signing Wirtz look extremely slim.
Manchester City are pushing hard to sign the German, and the fact that they are ready to bid close to £126.1 million for him blows most other teams out of the water.
Arsenal are unlikely to spend so much on a creative midfielder this summer when their priority is a new striker and also a winger.
If the Gunners are going to smash their transfer record on anyone, it will be on a new number nine – Alexander Isak is Mikel Arteta’s dream target.
As unlikely as that move is for Arsenal because of Newcastle’s position and the finances involved, we can see the Gunners attempting that transfer much more than going in for Wirtz.
