Ahead of the summer transfer window, the team at Arsenal will be working relentlessly behind the scenes to strengthen in all departments.
The Gunners may be on course to win their first Premier League title since the 2003/04 campaign but it would be remiss to suggest they are ready-made for the future.
Max Dowman’s goal against Everton offered fans a glimmer of hope of what the future holds for the club but the recruitment team are still working on signing new players this summer.
That includes Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez, who is reportedly going to cost any would-be buyers £129 million at the end of the season.
But the north Londoners are also looking to add Premier League-proven players to their squad – and they have been keeping an eye on one player in particular from Newcastle United.
Arsenal scouting Newcastle United star
Not only is Alvarez on the radar of table-topping Arsenal – who are currently nine points ahead of Manchester City in the table – but so is Newcastle defender Lewis Hall.
A product of Chelsea’s academy, Hall moved to St James’ Park in 2024 and has established himself as one of the brightest young full-backs in Europe.
And, according to CaughtOffside, his performance against Barcelona – one that saw able to contain Lamine Yamal for the most part – has caught the eye of some of football’s biggest clubs.
Watch highlights of Hall’s display against Barcelona below:
That includes Arsenal, according to the report, but the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund are also keen admirers of the 21-year-old.
Several La Liga sides are also understood to have been “closely monitoring” the Englishman, though no official bid has been tabled.
What could prevent clubs from being able to strike a deal for Lewis Hall is the fact that Newcastle have issued a hands-off notice. Despite financial pressures, Hall is not for sale in their eyes.
Understandably, he is viewed as a ‘cornerstone’ of the Eddie Howe project in the north east and the fact that his contract runs until the summer of 2029 means that any sort a move would be tricky to complete.
If clubs are able to make a breakthrough in negotiations, market experts have reportedly suggested that transfer talks would begin at around the £65-70 million mark.
Hall’s arrival could spell trouble for Lewis-Skelly
What Hall’s arrival could mean for Myles Lewis-Skelly will be a worry for the Emirates Stadium faithful, who believe the latter is one of the best talents in the Premier League.
A brilliant talent, 19-year-old Lewis-Skelly has struggled for game time this season and may look to leave Arsenal – either permanently or on a loan basis – in the summer.
Piero Hincapie’s loan is set to be turned permanent come the summer and Riccardo Calafiori has been one of the best left-backs in the division.
| Statistic | Lewis Hall | Riccardo Calafiori |
| Minutes | 1663 | 1458 |
| Goals/Assists | 1/1 | 1/2 |
| Pass success rate (%) | 85.6 | 85.4 |
| Tackles per match | 2 | 1.4 |
| Interceptions per match | 1 | 0.6 |
| Dribbles per match | 1.4 | 0.6 |
| Clearances per match | 2.7 | 2.2 |
| Overall rating | 6.85 | 6.83 |
Is Hall needed? One would argue that it would just be buying another defender for the sake of it – but there’s no doubting his talent and Arsenal may want to put themselves in the race for one of the Premier League’s best young players.
