Arsenal are hot on the tail of a starlet compared to Pedri. Having showcased the young talent they have in their ranks at the weekend – as Arsenal became the first club to field two players aged 16 or younger in an XI, beating Mansfield Town 2-1 in the FA Cup fifth round – it appears the North Londoners are making youth a keen focus going forward.Cult centre-back Per Mertesacker recently stepped down as Academy Manager at Hale End, and summer transfer plans could well include younger players, as manager Mikel Arteta adds quality to his side.
Arsenal looking to make midfield acquisition this summer
FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal won't be looking to make as many signings as they did last summer – eight – but will be focusing on bringing in young talents to compete for places at right-back and in midfield.Ben White has struggled with injury once again this season to leave Jurrien Timber as an almost ever-present, while summer signing Christian Norgaard has shadowed Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice without having started a single game.
The Gunners remain keen on bringing in Ayoub Bouaddi, hailed as Ligue 1's next big thing – though links with Crvena Zvezda technician Vasilije Kostov continue to surface. Sport Witness have relayed reports from Mozzart Sport in Serbia that cover the Gunners' place in a race for the teen's signature alongside Inter Milan and Marseille, with the claim made that a €20 million bid has already been lodged by the Premier League leaders.In January, Red Star's General Director Zvezdan Terzic confirmed to football.london that such an offer had been made, but stopped short of revealing which club had made the bid.Kostov has already hit the headlines in Serbia for becoming the youngest-ever scorer in Belgrade's Eternal Derby against Partizan, with the 17-year-old playmaker making his senior international debut for Serbia in October last year.It is believed that Inter may well have the upper hand in dealing with Red Star, due to manager Dejan Stankovic's nine-year stint as a player with the Nerrazurri, while Bayern Munich are also said to be monitoring the star.
An Arsenal move at this time, however, feels premature, given that the Gunners have the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly from their own academy set-up competing for spots in midfield. Lewis-Skelly has made 26 appearances for the Gunners this season, all at left-back, and is yet to start in the centre of the park for Arteta – though he was set to play there against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup earlier this season, before Riccardo Calafiori picked up an injury in the warm-up. Kostov is worth €10m, according to Transfermarkt. Arsenal travel to Bayer Leverkusen this week, as Champions League action continues.
