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Arsenal: Italian striker linked; pact with Chelsea revealed; shareholder agrees to sponsor another Premier League club
A transfer rumour to emerge from today is Andrea Belotti being linked to the Emirates Stadium. The Torino striker has been a sensation in Serie A this season, scoring 13 goals and contributing a further three assists. He is an excellent finisher as his goals tally would suggest, while he is a hard worker for the side defensively. Belotti is making headlines in Italy and there will be a number of clubs monitoring his situation this month. The report states that Arsenal have been put off by the £50 million price tag, but they will continue to watch his development and a move could be possible in the future.
This is encouraging for Arsenal fans as it is clear the club are making long term plans and have a group of players that they are monitoring. There is no great need to sign a striker at the moment, due to the great form of Alexis Sanchez and Olvier Giroud. Moreover, Danny Welbeck is set to make a return to first team action and will provide further cover to the first team. However, there could be a need to sign a striker in the summer, especially if Sanchez departs and Belotti could be a good option for the Gunners if he maintains his form in Italy.
Meanwhile an interesting story that has emerged is that Arsenal and Chelsea have a secret transfer pact that fans don’t know about, until now that is. report that there is an unwritten rule between the two London clubs that they won’t steal youngsters from each other, which is increasingly prevalent within the game now. There have been rumours about Dominic Solanke moving to Arsenal as a free agent, but as he is now a senior player at the age of 19, it wouldn’t go against the rule.
It is a refreshing story and one that shows there remains some decency between clubs. Arsenal and Chelsea are rivals on the pitch, but it is clear that there is respect off it and there needs to be more of this across the game. They will be competing for the same players, but that doesn’t mean that they should look to employ underhand tactics to take young players from one another. It may not be overly important on the face of it, but it is a nice story.
Finally, . It is worth up to £75 million for the Merseyside club and will significantly increase their spending power in the transfer market. Although Everton are not a direct rival of Arsenal’s at the moment, it is not good to see one of their major shareholders investing in another Premier League club, especially if it could help them improve to reach a level from which they can compete with Arsenal. This comes at a time when Arsenal desperately need investment themselves to become a genuine title challenger.
This could be little more than a gesture of friendship to Farhad Moshiri and nothing for Arsenal fans to worry about. However, as Moshiri’s hold over Everton strengthens there could be a possibility that Usmanov joins him rather than persist with Arsenal. He has failed to gain full control at Arsenal and that could have led to this move to sponsor Everton. It will be interesting to see how this story develops as one individual can’t really invest in two Premier League clubs, whether through shares or sponsorship.
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