Arsenal: Presnel Kimpembe just Wilfried Zaha all over again

Unai Emery reportedly wants Paris Saint-Germain centre-half Presnel Kimpembe to join him at Arsenal. That all sounds well and good, but where is the money coming from? This is just Wilfried Zaha all over again.

It really does get quite amusing. As the summer rolls on and the Arsenal transfer rumours lumber in, the names just seem to get more and more ridiculous, disbanding further and further from any vague strand attached to realism.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — The Big Season Review

This week, it was the turn of Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Presnel Kimpembe. There are some connections that at least make this rumour vaguely believable.

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Centre-half is arguably the Gunners’ biggest need and they do seem willing to chase down a key target at the position, Kimpembe would certainly be that. Arsenal head coach Unai Emery worked with Kimpembe at PSG and was a crucial figure in his young development, managing his transition from prospective talent to first-team contributor, eventually using him alongside Thiago Silva as the entrenched starting option. With Matthijs de Ligt reportedly on his way to Paris and rumoured toubles with Neymar, who is unquestionably the star of the show, the French champions are willing to sell.

But that, really, is where plausible logic ends. There is one clear and obvious reason why this deal with never happen: price. More specifically, Arsenal’s inability to meet what PSG’s likely demands would be, which would seemingly be around the £35 million mark at the very least, potentially as much as £50 million. This rumour seems far more similar to Wilfried Zaha than a realistic proposition.

Earlier this summer, it was revealed that Arsenal were interested in signing Crystal Palace star Zaha. The winger had enjoyed a terrific season for the middling Premier League side and was viewed as the ideal solution to the Gunners’ gaping chasm at the winger position.

But any move for Zaha would cost potentially as much as £100 million. More realistically, Palace would accept an offer closer to £70 million, maybe even £60 million, but all of those quoted prices far outweigh what Emery’s budget is, never mind considering the possibility of signing Zaha and addressing other positions of need. The Zaha links were never really founded in the truth.

These Kimpembe ones, I find, are extremely comparable. Yes, he would be an exciting, intelligent signing. Yes, he plays a position of need and has a previous relationship with Emery. And, yes, PSG could be convinced to sell, despite him playing 24 Ligue 1 matches last season. But it must be for the right price, and that is where the realism of this report very quickly ends.

So I will not be spending much time thinking about Kimpembe at the Emirates. It will not be happening, just like Zaha was never going to happen either.