Arsenal have four separate storylines moving at once on Wednesday, from a departing winger’s medical in Istanbul to the small hours before England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina. Here is the state of play across the club’s business and its World Cup interests.
Trossard’s Besiktas Medical Underway
Leandro Trossard is completing the formalities of his exit after Arsenal’s permanent deal with Besiktas, worth an initial £15.3m plus £1.7m in add-ons. The Belgian winger flew into Istanbul on Tuesday evening to undergo a medical, with reports in Turkey suggesting he will sign a three-year contract, with the option of a further year, and take the number 19 shirt. It brings an end to a five-year Emirates Stadium spell that included a Premier League title, and the fee frees up space in Mikel Arteta’s forward line as the search for a like-for-like replacement continues. Read more on how the Trossard-Besiktas deal came together.
Tzolis Pursuit Set To Accelerate
With Trossard’s exit all but confirmed, Arsenal are turning their attention to Christos Tzolis. According to the BBC, the Gunners are set to accelerate their pursuit of the Club Brugge winger, who could be available for around £30m, with sporting director Andrea Berta having sent his assistant Maurizio Micheli to watch the 24-year-old in person. Fabrizio Romano has separately reported that Tzolis wants the move and that Arsenal are in regular contact with his camp, though any deal would sit apart from the club’s separate efforts to sign Morgan Rogers. For the background on how this developed, see Arsenal’s earlier interest in Tzolis.
Arsenal Women’s Summer Rebuild Complete For Now
Renée Slegers’ rebuilt squad is close to full strength ahead of a return to pre-season training next week. Five permanent arrivals have been confirmed inside a fortnight, headlined by Ona Batlle’s free transfer from Barcelona and Georgia Stanway’s move from Bayern Munich, alongside Selina Cerci, Géraldine Reuteler and Lisa Baum. The turnover reflects a deliberate reduction in the squad’s average age following the exits of longer-serving players, with Arsenal short-priced favourites to end their WSL title wait. A full breakdown of the business is available in our piece on how the five signings transform Slegers’ squad.
What Tonight’s World Cup Semi-Final Means For Arsenal
Declan Rice is fit and expected to start for England against defending champions Argentina at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this evening, with Thomas Tuchel saying his squad’s fitness issues have eased since the win over Norway. Whoever wins takes on Martín Zubimendi’s Spain in Sunday’s final, with the Arsenal midfielder yet to feature this tournament as Luis de la Fuente continues to favour Rodri. It means a second Emirates player could be involved in the final within days, four years after Arsenal had none. Full detail on Spain’s route to the final is in our report on the three Arsenal stars already through.
