Newcastle have seriously threatened Arsenal’s position to become a Champions League club in recent months. This has been done both on and off the pitch via the transfer market.
And this could be set to continue as the Magpies are reportedly targeting the ideal winger signing for Arsenal. According to German news outlet Bild, Newcastle are also considering a move to sign Diaby in the January transfer window.
The Gunners have already suffered major disappointment in the current window as Chelsea stole a deal for Edu’s main target in Mykhaylo Mudryk. But if Arsenal were able to beat Newcastle to Diaby’s signature, it could hand Edu the key transfer redemption.
Eddie Howe added Bruno Guimaraes to his team in the last January transfer window, despite Arsenal also reportedly being interested in the midfielder, which caused unrest amongst the fanbase. The Gunners failed to sign a midfielder in the winter window, which made losing out on Guimaraes feel even worse for the north London side, as he certainly would have improved Mikel Arteta’s midfield, who will be set to suffer from a lack of depth in the summer, due to the huge number of offloads in this position.
Read More: Edu targets Eden Hazard January transfer amid Arsenal's two Mykhaylo Mudryk rejected bids
The same situation must not be repeated with Diaby. The Frenchman would be an excellent addition to the squad if Edu continues to pursue a deal.
Diaby links to Newcastle comes after Fabrizio Romano, via Caught Offside, claimed that Diaby has been on Edu and Arteta's list since missing out on Raphinha in the summer transfer window. Diaby had his best campaign to date last season, grabbing 13 goals and 12 assists for Leverkusen in 32 Bundesliga games.
Writing in his column for CaughtOffside, Romano says Arsenal manager Arteta was a big fan of Pedro Neto as an alternative, though a deal was difficult. In the summer Wolves held out for £50million for the Portugal international.
"Arsenal have the name of Pedro Neto on the list, highly regarded in the club and endorsed by Mikel Arteta. There is no official bid yet and it is not an easy negotiation, as Wolves want more than £50m for the Portuguese talent," Romano said.
"Another appreciated player was Moussa Diaby but Bayer Leverkusen consider him untouchable as of now. They are also offering him a new deal."
The Frenchman scored two goals in Europe this season with his most recent strike against European powerhouses Atletico Madrid proved pivotal as it kept Bayer Leverkusen’s hopes of remaining in Europe alive after qualifying for the Europa League knockout stage.
If Arsenal are to pursue a deal in January then they must be prepared to battle it out with potential Premier League competitions. But, with Arsenal at the top of the league, it could prove critical as a negotiation tool, if they are to explore other options than Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donestk.
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