One thing Mikel Arteta has consistently stressed during his time as Arsenal manager is the non-negotiables.
The Spaniard has shown his ruthless streak when needed, offloading the likes of Matteo Guendouzi and former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang following disputes regarding the player's attitudes. "There are some non-negotiables", Arteta said when he became Gunners boss in December 2019.
"The demands we put on the team, the commitment, the energy we put in, that dominance. We are the biggest football club in England, and we have to play a little bit with that arrogance, that belief."
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The type of players Arteta has targeted in the transfer market have equally shown that he is keen for his squad to be filled with unproblematic characters who apply themselves without many qualms. Club captain Martin Odegaard is the perfect example of this, as is West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice - who is Arsenal's priority target for the summer transfer window, football.london understands.
Therefore, links to Manchester City fullback Joao Cancelo make little sense. Of course, the north Londoners have previously shown they aren't afraid to sign players surplus to requirements at the Etihad Stadium, bringing Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus to the Emirates Stadium last summer.
But Zinchenko and Jesus were consistently praised by City boss Pep Guardiola, who made it no secret that he was sad to see them leave. Cancelo on the other hand, doesn't necessarily boast the same track record when it comes to positive relations with Guardiola.
"If the players who don't play are like 'me me me, I I I', I don't care and after I don't pay much attention," Guardiola said in March when speaking about rotating players in his squad. Of course, the former Barcelona head coach didn't name Cancelo but considering the two were said to have fallen out before the Portuguese international joined Bayern Munich on loan in January, it seems that Guardiola's comments may have been a thinly-veiled dig at the 28-year-old.
To make matters worse, Cancelo's move to Germany hasn't been particularly smooth either. He was displaced by Croatian youngster Josip Stanisic for a brief period of time, with Bayern Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic admitting that the City loanee wasn't training particularly well.
"Joao hasn't been training and playing the way we envisaged lately," Salihamidzic said. "We're in regular communication with him.
"I understand how he feels, but he is an excellent player who will become important to us in the future."
There is no doubting Cancelo's ability, when on form he is one of if not the best inverted full-back in the world. He can help his side dictate games in midfield and also provide elite output in the final third. But Arsenal need dependable characters.
The Gunners' faltering title bid showcased their need for leaders to help get them out of the mud when stuck, and by all accounts, Cancelo doesn't fit this role. It should also be noted that City have gone up a level since the former Inter Milan star's exit, with Nathan Ake or Manuel Akanji playing left-back.
Playing a centre-back at full-back seems to be a tactic that Guardiola has found success with, as has Arteta with Ben White enjoying a stellar campaign at right-back. Therefore, it may make sense for the north Londoners to target a similar profile at left-back instead of Cancelo.
The aforementioned Zinchenko is of course Arsenal's first choice here but the Ukrainian's defensive frailties have been exposed in recent times, highlighting the need for a different profile if backup left-back Kieran Tierney does decide to leave this summer.
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