In Yeremy Pino, Arsenal are hoping to sign a player who is hoping to model his entire career on Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Gunners, who have already spent more than £100million this summer, promise to still be active in the final weeks of the window. Mikel Arteta has refused to rule out further arrivals, despite getting their Premier League campaign off to the perfect start.
Speaking after his side successfully navigated a tricky opening day with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, Arteta was asked about further transfers. “We are going to try. If we can do them, great. But now it's work with the players we have, the focus should be with the players we have,” he told Sky Sports.
Having already signed a centre forward in Gabriel Jesus, attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira and the versatile Oleksandr Zinchenko, there are few positions remaining as pressing priorities before September 1.
However, a wide forward is believed to still be on the agenda, having missed out on the signing of Raphinha, with the ex-Leeds star instead joining Barcelona. Any further reinforcements will likely only be sanctioned with the departure of Nicolas Pepe, but there is hope a deal can be completed.
Villarreal’s Yeremi Pino is understood to be on the radar at the Emirates, with Radio Villarreal via Metro Sport, claiming Arsenal have tabled a bid in the region of €40m (£33.7m). The Gunners will need to move quickly with Liverpool also interested and may need to increase their offer to get closer to his ambitious £67.5m release clause.
Pino has developed quickly under ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery, first helping the Yellow Submarine to the Europa League final in 2021, before registering six goals and four assists in 21 LaLiga starts last term.
As well as being one of Villarreal’s hottest prospects, there should also be no concerns about his mindset and attitude to success, admitting he models himself on Manchester United icon Cristiano Ronaldo.
“He won me over with his mentality and sacrifice. A player who might not be a pure talent, but who, based on work, perseverance and effort, gets to where he wants to,” Pino told Gazzetta via Sport Witness.
And then he comes from Madeira, an island like Gran Canaria, and looking at him, I also recognised myself in emigration, suffering, difficulties.
“For me, he was a point of reference for everything. Today, the thing that strikes me most about him is his intact ambition: he is 37 and continues to fight and work harder than anyone to keep winning.
“For example, I know that there are people who say that he affects the way a team plays. I reply that he is still one of the few able to carry that team on his shoulders and win a game alone.”
And Pino offered a glimpse he could yet replicate his idol, scoring four during the thrashing of Espanyol in February, a performance Emery labelled as the “complete” one.“Yeremy is a 19-year-old boy who has a lot of maturity for certain things. He is competitive, brave and always wants more,” he said.
“He’s not always brilliant, he’s very young and has a lot to learn. Lately, he has played less and today he put in a very complete performance.
“We want to shine collectively, but we want individual quality to shine through too. We have a very competitive squad and that gives us better performances.”
