Arsenal transfer stance on Maddison, Aouar & Odegaard revealed

Arsenal will sign a creative midfielder this summer. If they don’t then they might as well start charging £500 for a matchday ticket since the position is so imperative to what is hoped to be achieved this season that supporters will feel derailed enough to not turn up.

Perhaps not that extreme, but there is no doubting how unbelievably important bringing in another No. 10 is in order to share the playmaker mantle with Emile Smith Rowe and provide Arsenal with some creative punch in the final third.

With dashes of Patient X and Patient Y, the ever-presents in this ongoing pursuit have been Martin Odegaard and James Maddison.

The latter entered the fray later on in the window as it grew less likely that a deal for the Norwegian would be viable, and has not left the headlines since.

Arsenal transfer stance on James Maddison, Houssem Aouar & Martin Odegaard revealed as Mikel Arteta eyes creative midfielder in summer window

From reputable sources all the way to Gavin down the pub, everyone has been under the illusion that Mikel Arteta is strongly interested in the Leicester man and someone he is actively pursuing this summer. All of which is true. Arteta does like Maddison and contacts have been made.

But does he like him as much as he likes Odegaard? Seemingly not.

As per The Athletic, Maddison is a player whom Arsenal have been watching this summer, albeit not with the same vigour as most have been lead to believe.

It’s stated that intermediaries, which have been widely reported as being involved in the discussions, are pushing for this more than Arsenal actually are. The term ‘match-making’ has been used, one that signals this is, to use a football analogy, like a goalkeeper making a save for the cameras.

Maddison is not someone the club are actively pursuing at this moment in time and Arsenal, for all the will of others, aren’t on the same wavelength as the rest. The £60m+ fee would be difficult for the club to navigate around but it’s the 24-year-old’s wages that are the biggest sticking point.

Ben White, while costing £50m, is on a modest salary and an attempt to lower the overall wage bill is among the considerations this summer. That’s probably something that should have been thought about prior to Willian and Cedric.

While not a dead in the water deal, as of yet there is no concrete movement on this deal. Various other outlets have reported otherwise.

So, what about Odegaard?

Continued…