Arsenal could pounce on the potential signing of Joao Felix in the upcoming transfer window. But for the Gunners to stand any chance, Mikel Arteta’s side must be in a strong position to finish in the Champions League places ahead of next season.
According to Spanish news outlet Marca, Felix wants to leave Atletico Madrid this winter. His agent Jorge Mendes is already looking for a new club.
In the past, the Gunners have been linked with a move for Felix, as he would certainly enhance the Arsenal attack. But for this deal to be possible, it means that the Gunners need to maintain their position near the top of the Premier League table.
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According to Spanish news outlet El Chringuito, Arsenal are interested in signing the Portuguese star. The report goes on to claim that a deal is possible because Diego Simeone wants to replace him with Goncalo Guedes.
Felix comes from the Benfica academy which has had a lot of success in the past in terms of their player development, which Manchester City has benefited from. Mikel Arteta has an excellent chance to follow in Pep Guardiola's footsteps by doing the same with the signing of Felix, whose stardom was once compared to Kylian Mbappe.
The forward was highly touted by Europe’s biggest clubs after his amazing Europa League run with Benfica during the 2018/2019 season. It was Atletico Madrid who signed him later in that summer for a blockbuster £114m transfer, as the youngster was tipped to become one of the world’s best players.
However, since joining the La Liga side his growth has taken a hit due to a clash in the style of play between him and Simeone, which has not been helped by the delay in injuries. Despite the differences between the player and the manager, Felix has still displayed glimpses of the quality he can bring when his given the freedom to express himself.
Despite Gabriel Jesus’ arrival, Edu still needs to add more firepower to Arteta’s options in the upcoming transfer windows. Eddie Nketiah and Jesus will need more goal support from different sources in the team. Felix has tons of European experience having made 34 appearances in Europe League and scoring 10 goals in the process, showing that he would be a good alternative option from a goalscoring perspective for the Gunners.
The Gunners' boss has been utilising Jesus as a striker throughout the early weeks of the season. However, his comments before the start of the campaign about the Brazilian suggests that he also wants to use him in a different role, more specifically the wing position.
But for the Spaniard to unlock this option, another forward must be signed to provide depth alongside Eddie Nketiah. The Gunners have been given a chance to do this by signing Felix from Atletico Madrid.
Speaking about Jesus, Arteta said: "His versatility is well known. Now we are using him as a nine. He can play as a winger, off the left and the right. You can play with two strikers as we have done in pre-season as and change the shape a little bit. He gives us a lot of flexibility."
Felix would certainly be a good signing for the Gunners. But, competition for his signature would certainly be fruitful meaning Arsenal would have put themselves in the best negotiation position to be able to complete a deal.
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