Arsenal to miss out on dream transfer that would unlock Declan Rice after £101.5m win

During the summer transfer window, Arsenal strengthened in key areas of the squad to solve a number of long-term issues.

Riccardo Calafiori's move from Bologna added another versatile option in defence while Mikel Merino's arrival from Real Sociedad further solidified the Gunners' claim to have one of the strongest midfields in European football.

The goalkeeper problem on Mikel Arteta's hands is now gone with Aaron Ramsdale playing regular football at Southampton and Neto replacing him as David Raya's number two. Finally, Raheem Sterling's deadline day loan move from Chelsea added more firepower in attack.

All signings have been made with the ultimate goal in mind: toppling Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. After spending over £100million in the market, the Gunners transfer business is a success, on paper.

For Arsenal, they are in a better position to compete at the top of the league. However, there remain two areas of the squad that many believe could do with world-class additions. Centre-forward is one, with Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak both long-term targets, and holding midfield is the other.

In 2023, Declan Rice joined the club for a club-record fee worth £105million. Merino's arrival simply makes Arteta's midfield better but there remains doubts over Thomas Partey's injury record. In the summer, the Gunners were linked with the likes of Martin Zubimendi and Amadou Onana.

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Rice has been Arteta's trustee in that role but has proven his capability to play further forward to accompany Martin Odegaard. The signing of an elite holding midfielder is expected to be one of the priorities in January and next summer, but there's one player that has already been ruled out.

Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni is a name who has been mentioned with Arsenal very briefly in the past two summer windows, but there has never been any serious interest. It was previously reported that he could leave Los Blancos but it's now understood that Madrid intend to keep the France international.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the 24-year-old is a player Carlo Ancelotti wants around. "We saw these rumours in England and we keep receiving many questions on Tchouameni because the summer transfer window just closed," Romano said via his Here We Go podcast.

"Many people raised rumours about Liverpool, Arsenal, Tchouameni in 2025. I wanted to clarify something for 2024, 2025, 2026, whenever. The intention of Aurelien Tchouameni is to stay in Real Madrid. The intention of Real Madrid is to keep Aurelien Tchouameni as a crucial player for that project.

"For present and future. They are in love with Tchouameni, with the player, with the professional. How he acted in the centre-back position was something really appreciated by the technical staff at Real Madrid. So it's absolutely not even considered for Real Madrid to sell Aurelien Tchouameni. The situation is perfect between the club and player.

"I can guarantee at the moment, despite all the rumours, we know how many clubs can appreciate a top player like Tchouameni. But in terms of concrete possibilities for him to leave Madrid – at the moment, zero."