Arsenal and another major club are "leading the race" to sign a "big talent" compared to John Stones, according to reports this week.
Edu and Arteta constantly transfer planning at Arsenal
Manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu are consistently planning for the future behind the scenes when it comes to transfers, and there isn't a single addition which doesn't get approved by the Gunners head coach.
£200,000-per-week player has now privately told Arsenal he wants to leave
He’s expressed his wish behind-the-scenes.
ByEmilio Galantini
The north Londoners, in their bid to win a first league title in 20 years, spent over £200 million last summer and broke their transfer record to bring in midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham for around £105 million.
While Arteta's side succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against FC Porto earlier this week, Arsenal remain in great stead domestically, having won five out of their last five league matches, scoring 21 goals in that time.
Newcastle United
24th February
Sheffield United
March 4th
Brentford
March 9th
Chelsea
March 16th
Man City
March 31st
This is testament to the elite side both Edu and Arteta have managed to build over the years, with the former commenting on their working relationship to Sky Sports in 2022.
"One hundred per cent. I'm never ever going to sign a player which Mikel is not comfortable with, never," said Edu.
"That's not my style and for sure it's not the Arsenal style. If we decide to work together then the decision needs to be together. It's not Mikel's signings, it's not Edu's signings, it's the Arsenal signings so that for me is the most important thing for people to understand.
"I always say people sometimes give the credit to me or to Mikel, but the credit has to go to Arsenal. We are Arsenal, we are working together and the decision we make is together. Around one decision is not only Edu and Mikel, it's a lot of people around those decisions. The most important message to the fans and for people to understand is that we sign players for Arsenal and [they are] Arsenal's decisions."
The same will apply for scouring Europe for rising stars of the future, with journalist Jordan Campbell of The Athletic now claiming they have their eyes on a "big talent".
Arsenal "leading the race" to sign Lewis Carrol
According to Campbell, writing on X, Arsenal are among the favourites to sign Aberdeen starlet Lewis Carrol, and perhaps most interestingly, he's been "compared" to Stones in terms of style.
It will be interesting to see where this one goes at the Emirates Stadium with Carrol's growing reputation something to look out for. If he can replicate a similar career to Stones, who played a starring role in Man City's Champions League final win over Inter Milan last year, supporters could be very optimistic.