Hi and welcome to our weekly transfer update. The good news is Aubameyang is close to signing a new three year contract. Although several reports claim that a deal worth 250k a week has already been done and its pending announcement. In his recent press conference, Mikel Arteta has said that Arsenal fans can relax over the new deal. But for as long as the window is still open and it not being announced I don’t see why fans should relax. Securing Aubameyang’s future is more important right now than bringing in new players. We saw this in the opening game against Fulham, he’s scoring goals for fun. Aubameyang has now scored 8 goals in his last 6 appearances for Arsenal. We are hoping to get an announcement this coming week before Arsenal play West Ham United at the Emirates stadium.

Incomings

Arsenal’s top transfer targets remain to be Thomas Partey of Atlético Madrid and Houssem Aouar of Lyon. The two midfielders will prove to be the final pieces for Mikel Arteta’s midfield to push for top 4 this campaign. Partey has a release clause of €50m while Lyon has set Aouar’s release clause at around €60m. It was reported last week that Arsenal have stopped their pursuit in securing Partey signature and focused all their attention on Aouar. Lyon president came out last week to confirm that Arsenal have made inquiries about Aouar and several reports have claimed that Aouar is open for a move. Deals involving Guendouzi have been mentioned. Its starting to look like Arsenal won’t afford to bring in both players Aouar’s deal looks the more likely to happen.

Arsenal has shown interest in signing Bentford goalkeeper David Raya to replace the outgoing Emi Martinez. No fee has been discussed yet but the players agent has hinted at a move to a Premier League club this summer. He’s expected to be Bernd Leno’s understudy if the deal go through.

Arsenal are also interested in signing Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard after submitting a second improved bid of €25. This deal does not make sense unless if Arsenal are planning to send Eddie Nketiah on loan for the season. Lacazette looks like is part of Arteta’s plans for the season. The manager has commented on the situation and is happy to keep Lacazette. Lacazette has two years left on his contract so if he’s part of the plans Arsenal should present him with a new contract this season to avoid having the same situation as Aubameyang next window. Edouard’s signing will be a good one as it will add more quality upfront but it is very unlikely if Eddie Nketiah is still at the club.

Outgoings

Arsenal have accepted a €20m offer from Aston Villa for Martinez. The Argentine will end his 10 years with Arsenal as he’s expected to play for Villa in the Carabao Cup game against Burton on Tuesday. Another goalkeeper, Matt Macey could be out of the door too. Macey is out of contract by the summer and has been linked with a move away. The player has told the press that he has an agreement with the club to let him go and play regular football on loan or permanent move.

With eight centre backs at the club, Arsenal are looking to move out at least 2 if not 3. Napoli want to sign Sokratris the player was recently reported that he is talking to the club to allow him to leave for free. Napoli are also monitoring the situation around Mustafi. The center back has only one year left on his contract. Although he’s injured he will be returning to full training by end of September meaning he could be fit for a move by the time the window shuts. Interest for Chambers from Fulham has dried out although a move elsewhere is still likely.

Other players linked with a move away are Torreira and Kolasinac. The club is still working on finalizing their moves to Germany and Italy respectively.

What’s going to happen to Guendouzi and Ozil? The two players didn’t make the match day squad for our opener against Fulham on Saturday. Mesut Ozil declared himself fit and available on Twitter the other day Guendouzi has also returned to first team training after a putting in a good performance for France Under 21. Mikel Arteta has mentioned that in the new season all players will be treated equal, similar to him giving them a clean slate in December when he took over as head coach. There’s a lot that’s could happen between now and October 5. Whether the two midfielders will be at the club by then is a big question. Our guess is that their place in the team will be replace by the signings of Partey and Aouar. Or one if the two.

Arsenal Chief Executive Officer, Vinai Venkatesham, has confirmed that they working on moving players out and that they are still in the market in an interview with Arsenal.com. We expect most players linked out to be out of the club by the end of the transfer window and one or two new signings joining.

That’s our weekly transfer update. We will be back next week.