Arsenal enter talks to sign £80m “monster”

The last few weeks have been quite extraordinary for Arsenal.

The club has gone from signing no one as their rivals made additions to already securing three impressive players in Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Christian Norgaard, and they aren’t done yet.

The promising Valencia defender Christian Mosquera had his medical this afternoon, the goalscoring monster Viktor Gyokeres looks like he’ll be on the plane to preseason on Saturday, and Noni Madueke could be announced at any moment.

The latter will add some quality depth to the squad and could even push for a starting role on the left, although, based on reports, Arsenal might be pushing for an even more exciting attacking signing this summer.

Arsenal target star more exciting than Madueke

It would be fair to say that when news first broke of Arsenal’s interest in Madueke, the reaction from the fanbase wasn’t entirely positive.

In fact, it got so vitriolic at one point that murals outside the stadium were vandalised, and journalist Sam Dean questions whether a big-money signing had ever resulted in such backlash.

However, as you’d expect, the club pushed on and ended up reaching an agreement worth up to £52m for the player, who has passed his medical and should be announced either today or tomorrow.

Madueke might have an uphill battle to win over some at the Emirates, but he’s undeniably talented, and Arteta would not have wanted him if he did not think he could add something to the squad.

With that said, it now looks like the North Londoners have switched their attention to another wide talent, someone who would undoubtedly be a more exciting addition than the former Chelsea man.

At least that is according to a recent report from GIVEMESPORT, which claims Arsenal have entered fresh talks with Rodrygo’s representatives over a potential move.

The report has revealed that if the Real Madrid star moves to the Emirates, he’d want a contract that made him the top earner, which would see him surpass Kai Havertz, who is currently making £280k-per-week.

The story does not reveal how much the Gunners might have to pay to secure their man, but reports from earlier this week claim that an offer of around £80m should suffice.

It would be a massive financial investment to bring in Rodrygo, but he’s proven in recent years that he would be worth it, and a far more exciting transfer than Madueke at that.

Why Rodrygo would be more exciting than Madueke

Starting with the indisputable, the first reason Rodrygo would be a more exciting signing than Madueke this summer is the simple fact that he’s more effective.

For example, despite being played out of his favoured left-wing position, the 24-year-old scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists in 54 appearances, totalling 3452 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.16 games, or every 138.08 minutes.

In contrast, the Englishman scored 11 goals and five assists in 46 appearances, totalling 2647 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.87 games, or every 165.43 minutes.

The second reason is that the game-changing “monster,” as dubbed by Arsenal journalist Eduardo Hagn, would bring with him so much more top-level experience.

For example, he’s won two La Liga titles with Los Blancos and played a pivotal role in two Champions League triumphs as well.

In fact, of the 25 goals he has scored in the competition, to go along with his 14 assists, eight of them have been game-winning goals, and eight have come in the knockout rounds.

Finally, and this may be somewhat superficial, the Real ace wouldn’t be another player making the all-too-common move from Stamford Bridge, a journey some fans have become particularly tired of seeing.

Ultimately, Madueke will provide Arsenal with some much-needed depth in attacking areas, but if it happens, there is no denying that Rodrygo’s signing would be far, far more exciting.