“He’s still very young and Saudi league are interested in him as we receive a HUGE offer for him”- Arsenal Legend Patrick Vieira reveals Arsenal are not plotting to sell first-team star to Saudi league and replace him with “complete” star who is very versatile and good at many things- Player Not Partey, Not J5 and not Smith Rowe

Arsenal plan to sell first-team star and replace him with “complete” ace

The Gunners are looking to bank around £30 and get a replacement this month.

During last summer’s transfer window, three Premier League teams – Chelsea (£424.8m), Spurs (£213.4m) and Manchester City (£211.1m) – spent more than Arsenal (£203.5m) outright. However, when you go by net spend, the Gunners (£124.7m) were second only to Chelsea (£203.5m) in the league rankings.

Until their London rivals signed Moises Caicedo in mid-August, Arsenal’s move for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice was the most expensive ever conducted between two English clubs. On top of that, they acquired attacker Kai Havertz from Stamford Bridge, defender Jurrien Timber from Ajax and goalkeeper David Raya from Brentford on an initial loan.

Given that, relatively speaking, Arsenal weren’t able to recoup much of this spend back through sales, it’s no surprise that manager Mikel Arteta needs to think about balancing the books if he wants to add to his squad again in January.

Nketiah price set at £30m

According to The Star, Arsenal have slapped a £30m price tag on striker Eddie Nketiah amid interest from Crystal Palace. Nketiah is “highly-regarded at the Emirates” and so the Gunners will drive a hard bargain, even insisting upon a sell-on clause as part of a potential transfer.

The possible departure of Nketiah is connected to the arrival of a new centre-forward, with Arsenal interested in Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke as well as the well documented links to Brentford’s Ivan Toney. Nketiah’s exit could free up the funds and space to make a move for a new number nine.

“Complete” Solanke is better than Nketiah

Nketiah has played a significant volume of football this season, appearing in 27 matches and logging 1,266 minutes overall. He’s started half of Arsenal’s 20 Premier League games and banged in six goals, an average of one every 211 minutes.

He’s shown he’s a decent understudy to Gabriel Jesus, but if Arsenal are keen on an upgrade and Nketiah commands a significant fee, then there’s little point keeping him round.

At the start of the season, few Gunners fans would have had any interest in links with Solanke, who had never scored more than six goals in a Premier League season. However, just 20 games into the current campaign, he’s already doubled that tally, with only Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland (both 14) ahead of him in the rankings.

Significantly, Solanke’s output looks sustainable. He’s only marginally out-performing his xG (11.0), so you can’t put his dramatic upturn down to freakishly good finishing (FBRef). Instead, it’s reflective of the quality of his opportunities, and by extension, the intelligence of his movement in and around the penalty area.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, who has scored more Premier League goals for the club than anybody else, is a big fan of Solanke, crediting him for a “brilliant” run of form after watching him “struggle” early in his career (Bournemouth Echo).

Meanwhile, Andoni Iraola, his manager at Bournemouth, has billed him the “complete” striker, emphasising that there are facets to his game beyond goalscoring. Indeed, when compared to positional peers over the last year, the 26-year-old ranks in the 75th percentile or better for blocks (0.9), clearances (1.4), progressive carries (1.96) and successful take-ons (1.26), which shows that he’s a committed press-leader and a gifted dribbler (FBRef).

No wonder Arsenal are interested in such a convincing all-round package.