Arsenal: One way to play Wilfried Zaha game

David Ornstein has reported there is mutual interest in a Wilfried Zaha move to Arsenal. The only sticking point is price. For the Gunners, therefore, there is only one way to play it: be patient.

It seems as though as Arsenal are pondering one of the biggest potential transfers that they could possibly make this summer, given their failure to qualify for the Champions League and their financial restrictions.

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According to a report by David Ornstein of BBC Sport, a journalist who is extremely well connected at the Emirates and has proven to be successful with his reports in the past, the Gunners are interested in signing Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace. And there is, according to Ornstein, mutual interest from Zaha himself.

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There is just one major sticking point regarding any potential move: price. Palace do not want to sell. They did not want to sell before they agreed on a deal with Manchester United for burgeoning right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but not that that is progressing well, their insistence to not lose either of their key players from last season really does come into play. As a result, the price has rocketed, which it can with Zaha still having four years to run on his contract.

For Arsenal, that is majorly problematic. They have a measly £40-45 million budget because of their lack of Champions League involvement. With several other needs throughout the squad, it was always believed that Zaha, at the reported £80 million price that Palace are demanding, would be too expensive. Without player sales, and significant ones at that, the transfer will not take place. But there is a way for that price to be eased a little, and it is the only way that Raul Sanllehi and Unai Emery can handle these negotiations.

Ornstein’s report is quite clear: Zaha wants to leave Palace and he wants to leave this summer. The strength of Ornstein’s report suggests that Zaha is more interested in a transfer than Arsenal are at this point, primarily because of the price.

If Zaha were to kick up a fuss at Palace, which would not be completely out of character and is comfortably envisagable, the price could slip a little, Palace worried about keeping an unhappy player and erring more towards wanting to recoup the maximum possible value.

There are a lot of ifs there, admittedly. And it would also require some rather active and potentially unsettling behaviour from Zaha, but, with the pressure of the transfer deadline and an unhappy player who submits a transfer request, it is not inconceivable that Arsenal could push the price down to a more palatable £50-60 million.

This, really, is the only way the cash-strapped Gunners can play this. They cannot afford £80 million. The only way to sign Zaha is to somehow coerce Palace into lowering their price, and that requires a whole lot of patience.