Mikel Arteta makes final decision on Arsenal transfer priority as £30m chance made clear for Edu

Mikel Arteta and Edu appear to have finalised their exact Arsenal transfer priorities for this summer. The Gunners were leading the race to sign Benjamin Sesko before he signed a new contract at RB Leipzig, though that decision did not hugely alter Arsenal's aims.

Strengthening in midfield was always a priority for Arteta and Edu, with the interest in Sesko arriving simply because of how good the £55.6million transfer opportunity was. With focus back on midfield, the expected departure of Thomas Partey along with Kai Havertz's role change looked to have played a big part in Arteta's decision.

In terms of midfield targets, Martin Zubimendi, Bruno Guimaraes, Amadou Onana and Youssouf Fofana have all been linked. Deals for the Newcastle star and Zubimendi appear very unlikely, though both Onana and Fofana are realistic options.

However, both are currently at Euro 2024, for France and Belgium, respectively, which could delay a potential transfer. And now a major update on Arsenal's plans for the coming months has been revealed, with The Athletic claiming the Gunners Arsenal are leaning towards signing a No.6 over No.8 because they feel there are more attractive options in the market.

In his time at Everton, while still playing in a deeper role, Onana has been more frequently deployed as a box-to-box midfielder, which certainly indicates he may not be considered. Fofana, however, is a traditional holding midfielder and thus could soon become Arsenal's priority signing.

The AS Monaco star sees his contract expire in 2025, which certainly suggests a departure is imminent if he cannot agree to an extension. Prior to Euro 2024, the 25-year-old again spoke about his future, making it seemingly clear he would have a new club ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

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"I have spoken about it with the hierarchy, it isn’t a secret,” he said in a press conference “We had exchanges and they agreed to accompany me in this new stage. If it (a move) doesn’t happen, I still have a year left and I will be happy to stay.

"We were in agreement that we would accompany each other in this process in which everyone should be a winner, be it me or the club." Exactly how much Arsenal would have to pay for his signature is unclear, but because of his contract situation, £30million has been mooted as the asking price which would be an absolute bargain for a player of his calibre.