Chelsea's N'Golo Kante and the agent of Brighton star Moises Caicedo have both spoken out after being linked with moves to Arsenal.
Despite an impressive Premier League campaign with Mikel Arteta's men set to push Manchester City to the wire, the Spaniard is keen to bolster his squad this summer. Indeed, injuries to defenders William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko have laid bare the fragility of Arsenal's squad, with the pair out for the remainder of the season.
But it's in midfield where Arteta is mainly targeting reinforcements, with the club heavily linked with an £80million move for West Ham talisman Declan Rice. The England international is being touted as a replacement for Granit Xhaka, who is expected to head out of the Emirates.
Arsenal have also been tracking the situation of Chelsea player Kante, whose current contract is set to expire in the summer, meaning he'd be available on a free transfer. The World Cup winner has been a pivotal figure at Stamford Bridge ever since moving from Leicester in 2016, but his latest campaign has been injury-plagued.
Barcelona have also expressed interest, but Kante has voiced his desire to stay amid the impending appointment of Mauricio Pochettino. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "For sure. It’s an exciting project for the club.
"Unfortunately this season hasn’t been to Chelsea’s standards. But everyone wants to go in this way, the way of success and winning titles. I hope this club will again fight in this direction. Let’s see where I will be but I hope that this is a change for the club, that is most important."
Caicedo meanwhile, has been a revelation for Brighton this season, attracting interest from a host of big name clubs, including Arsenal and Liverpool. And his agent, Manuel Sierra, has given Arteta reason for optimism after telling Arsenalinformer : "Arsenal is a great team for everyone; let’s see what happens in the summer, there are many clubs keen on Moises.
"Moises has 4 years left on his contract. He’s having an incredible season, so it’s normal that there are many clubs interested in him. Now he’s completely focused on the last part of the season; all evaluations will be postponed until the summer. This is not a surprise because there aren’t many other midfielders so young and talented around Europe.
And the Gunners being back in the Champions League next season will seemingly aid their pursuit - as could their interest in Kante: "I believe he can really improve in every aspect of the game," added Sierra. "He can slot into any [team] as he is ready for it all. His dream is to play in the Champions League and to reach as far as he can in football. His idol? Kante."
