Arsenal: Manchester City after defender; Morata latest; Gazidis caution

Add as preferred source on Google

So far this summer, there has been very little talk of outgoings at Arsenal, until earlier this week when Manchester City made an approach for Hector Bellerin.

According to the Daily Mirror, Arsenal are incensed at City’s advances, believing they could unsettle Bellerin ahead of the latest round of contract talks with the player.

Arsenal are said to have called Tixi Begiristain personally to complain about City’s behaviour and issue a stern hands-off warning.

Embed from Getty Images

All of this is quite reminiscent of Chelsea’s ‘tapping-up’ of Ashley Cole in 2005, which resulted in Arsenal making a formal complaint to the FA and the Blues whacked with a charge.

Despite the stringent laws against ‘tapping-up’, it is a habitual practice in football and it does not seem as if City’s behaviour was especially untoward, no matter how unhelpful their move was to Arsenal’s attempts to tie the Spanish right-back down to a fresh deal.

The Gunners’ hunt for a new striker is set to be a summer long saga, and it seems as if Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata is set to stay put.

Widespread reports this morning show Morata and Real president Florentino Perez embracing, while Morata has said it is ‘incredible’ to be back at Real Madrid and a ‘dream come true’.

Embed from Getty Images

The sentiments of the player in question do not count for much where Real’s transfer business is concerned – if they decide they want to sell Morata, then he will be off.

However, as Arsenal are finding out, there is a chronic shortage of top class strikers in Europe at the moment and the Spanish giants will probably stick with Morata due to the lack of viable alternatives.

Back at Arsenal, chief executive Ivan Gazidis has shed some light on Arsenal’s outlook this summer with words that some supporters may find distressing.

Speaking to ESPN, Gazidis said: “We’re making progress in what is a fiercely competitive world, against competitors that have the capability to spend far more money than we do.

“We’re doing it by being very, very disciplined; spending money where we believe it makes a difference, but also giving young players a chance and believing in ourselves and our values.”

Embed from Getty Images

Given that Arsenal have greater cash reserves than any club in the world, his words are likely to fall upon deaf ears.

Arsenal’s need to sign players does not increase their availability, but fans of the North London outfit would like to hear a bit more intent from their CEO.

Signings such as Mesut Özil were kept under wraps for months, as was Arsenal’s interest in Jamie Vardy. Perhaps they are trying to get something done under the cover of darkness – the Emirates faithful will certainly hope so!

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Genç Arsenal