'Interest from Arsenal': Journalist claims 'one of the best creators in Serie A' wants move, Gunners keen

By Giuseppe Labellarte

Arsenal have been heavily linked with Napoli’s Fabian Ruiz in recent months.

In May, Napoli Piu claimed the Gunners were the team who hold the highest interest in the midfielder.

And two weeks ago, RAI journalist Ciro Venerato claimed Arsenal and Manchester United wanted Ruiz.

And Napoli reportedly want to offload the 26-year-old, whose contract expires next summer.

Venerato told Domenica Sportiva Estate, as quoted by Napoli Magazine: “De Laurentiis (Napoli owner) would like to give away Fabian Ruiz, valued at €30million (£25million).

“And, on him are Arsenal and Manchester United.”

“Wants to leave the team”

Now, journalist Paolo Bargiggia has provided another update on Ruiz, commenting on the Gunners’ interest in the process.

“The club is, in fact, having a tough approach with Fabian,” he told 1 Football Club, as quoted by by CalcioNapoli24 and Sport Witness.

“The latter earns about €1.8m (£1.6m per year), his agents have never made a renewal request, but if they had to, they would certainly ask for a contract extension with a higher salary.

“The player, however, wants to leave the team, so Napoli will listen to important offers, or he will probably be relegated to the bench, as he’ll be excluded from the club’s project.

“I bring back the interest from Arsenal and Juventus, even if the Bianconeri cannot make proposals worth €30-40m.”

Ruiz’s age, quality and experience make him an asset for Napoli. Normally, he’d be worth a huge amount of money.

However, the length of his contract has caused his value to drop significantly.

Now, it looks as though Napoli want rid of him for a fee that wouldn’t exactly break the bank.

Scouting website Breaking the Lines recently deemed him “one of the best creators in Serie A” with his “metronomic abilities”.

Arsenal really could do with a world-class midfield general to set the tempo and create chances aplenty.

And Ruiz certainly seems a great shout for the Gunners if they decide to make a move.