Arsenal: Major Leon Goretzka transfer boost from Wenger dealings

Arsenal look to be back in on Leon Goretzka after a potential move has been revealed, boosting the odds that this move could materialize.

Arsenal are clearly prioritizing massive upgrades across the board. They landed Sead Kolasinac to phase out Kieran Gibbs and they nabbed Alexandre Lacazette as an all-around upgrade, but also to (inexplicably) phase out Lucas Perez.

Each move has an opposite move, as dead weight players are making way for players with much more upside and much more promise. It would therefore stand to reason that any move that Arsene Wenger goes for this year has to be met with an opposite sale of a player that isn’t exactly wowing our socks off anymore.

And that is where I derive this new optimism surrounding Leon Goretzka from. The German midfielder is pretty obviously seeking a move elsewhere.

German national coach Joachim Low said of Goretzka during the Confederations Cup: “It seems to be clear he is carefully planning his next steps and we are trying to ignore the whole issue surrounding his club career.”

Schalke’s CEO shot the idea down, however, stating that he could not imagine a scenario where Goretzka is sold. Of course, you could make the case that that statement isn’t 100% conclusive.

Regardless, it silenced the rumors while also not increasing Goretzka’s desire to sign. He is seeking a move elsewhere and as that is the case, he is not going to re-up on the one-year left on his contract. So if he isn’t sold this summer, he can walk next summer.

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Naturally, Bayern Munich are in on the lad, but having just landed both Corentin Tolisso and James Rodriguez, another midfielder seems a bit counterintuitive.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have seemingly been trying to offload a midfielder.

Recent reports indicate that the Gunners had accepted a £10m bid for Mohamed Elneny only to have Elneny refuse the deal, citing his love for London. Leicester City’s Craig Shakespeare said quite simply “no comment” when asked about the deal that could have been.

But given the trends of this transfer window, how each sale is counteracting an exit, wouldn’t the fact that the Gunners are willing to let Elneny go indicate that they have a replacement in mind? And I know we all hate the tabloid transfer rumors, but numerous sources agreed that Goretzka was being targeted by the Gunners.

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Therefore it stands to reason that the Gunners are a bit confident in signing a replacement (say… Leon Goretzka) if they are willing to make a snap sale of Mohamed Elneny.

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