Wayne Rooney is already thinking about what the future transfer windows could hold for Arsenal.
Sporting director Andrea Berta has turned his attention from signing players to retaining them.
After Arsenal signed eight players in the summer transfer window, the Italian has started to work on contracts, with William Saliba set to extend his stay at the Emirates.
Beyond contracts, there will be a slight thought to the winter transfer window, which, surprisingly, has been a talking point for Wayne Rooney.
Wayne Rooney thinks Arsenal could try and sign Marc Guehi
When analysing the action from week six of the Premier League, Rooney touched upon Crystal Palace’s tremendous win against Liverpool.
The two clubs were bound at the end of the summer transfer window, as Marc Guehi was close to signing for Liverpool, but the move never happened.
Already in the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park, the defender’s future is up in the air, and Rooney thinks Arsenal could get involved.
“I just got a feeling Arsenal and Chelsea might come in, and they might try and take Liverpool out of it,” Rooney said of Guehi’s future on The Wayne Rooney Show.
Despite describing his home city as the world’s best, Rooney admitted that he’d rather see Guehi join Arsenal or Chelsea over Liverpool.
“But Liverpool is, for me, the best city in the world. So if he does join, that’s where he’d be going and enjoy everything about Liverpool, but I just hope he doesn’t because I think he’ll improve them.”
It was a boost for Arsenal that Liverpool missed out on Guehi, as already, the Reds’ defensive options look very stretched.
Guehi might have reservations about joining Arsenal
Rooney’s opinion isn’t merely speculative, as Arsenal were interested in signing Guehi in the summer.
That being said, now that the window has closed, it’s unclear whether the England international would be open to signing for Arsenal.
That’s not to say that Arteta’s project isn’t appealing, but rather that the Gunners’ central defensive options are already too good.
Having been Crystal Palace’s captain and one of the league’s best, Guehi would surely hesitate to sign for Arsenal and become a backup to the likes of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
It would be a shock to see Guehi follow Eberechi Eze from Selhurst to the Emirates, but stranger things have happened in football.
from Arsenal Transfer News | Rumours, Deals & Targets | Arsenal Insider
Rosie Tudball