Arsenal are preparing to offer three of their players to this club in order to boost their efforts of signing this talented attacker, should the Gunners break the bank for this star?
According to The Sun, Arsenal will prop up their bid to sign Crystal Palace’s £80m-rated forward Wilfried Zaha by offering three players to the Eagles in a player-plus-cash deal.
As per the report, the Gunners only have a budget of £40m to play with this summer, although Unai Emery has the chance to boost this by securing Champions League football for next season by defeating Chelsea in the Europa League final.
It’s understood that Arsenal are prepared to offer Crystal Palace Callum Chambers, Carl Jenkinson or talented young attacker Reiss Nelson in a bid to overcome their cash restrictions and offer Palace a sound deal for Zaha.
Arsenal’s potential move for Zaha could all be reliant on the outcome of the Europa League final, it’s understood that Zaha wants to leave Palace for a Champions League club, so the Gunners will have to overcome Chelsea before making any approaches for the Ivorian.
As Zaha is born and bred in England, the 26-year-old would count as a homegrown player for the Gunners, despite the fact that he switched his international allegiances to the Ivory Coast.
Arsenal fans would no doubt be excited to sign Zaha, however they’ll be uncertain over a potential deal if it means giving up a massive talent like Reiss Nelson. The 19-year-old is a regular for the England Under-21s and has got some first-team football under his belt during his loan spell with Hoffenheim this season.
Despite the fact that Zaha has the talents to take the Gunners’ attacking line of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette to a whole other level, Unai Emery’s focus should be on improving his defence.
The root of Arsenal’s fall from grace in recent years has been their shocking defensive ability, the Gunners are leaking far too many goals and Emery needs to steady the backline before the north London side can compete for the league again.
Interest in Zaha should take a backseat until Arsenal’s defensive problems are handled.
