Report: £17m Arsenal player’s about to leave, club have worked ‘under the radar’ to sign him

Add as preferred source on Google

Granit Xhaka is set to leave Arsenal for Roma in a £17 million deal, Calcio Mercato say.

Exiting

Arsenal and Roma have been negotiating a fee for some time, but last night reports claimed that the deal was done.

Calcio Mercato say that barring any ‘sensational surprises’ Xhaka will leave Arsenal and be part of Roma’s pre season training in the near future.

The good news for Arsenal is that they seem to have been able to negotiate a fee closer to what they wanted for their former captain.

Roma initially low-balled Arsenal in an offer, but Edu has stood firm over his valuation and that tactic seems to have paid off, although the deal has taken a while to go through.

Under the radar

Roma have apparently worked ‘under the radar’ to get the deal done recently.

Xhaka’s exit is likely to generate a mixed reaction from Arsenal supporters.

While there were always concerns about his tendency to pick up bookings and lack of pace, he is also one of the leaders in their current squad.

Xhaka played a key role for Arsenal last term, and actually featured across multiple positions.

The Gunners have already seemingly signed his replacement though, with Albert Sambi Lokonga joining from Anderlecht last week