Arsenal can sting Man Utd and Chelsea with bargain £13m deal for 'world class' player

Arsenal will have the opportunity to beat Manchester United and Chelsea to a bargain deal for Italy winger Federico Chiesa over the coming weeks. The Gunners have already welcomed Riccardo Calafiori to the Emirates Stadium with Mikel Merino set to become their next summer signing.

It has been reported that Arsenal will pay around £30million in exchange for Merino’s signature with the deal set to be wrapped up in the coming days. Personal terms are not expected to be an issue, with the former Newcastle man eager to finalise his return to the Premier League.

The completion of that deal will allow Edu to target another important signing, having been locked in negotiations with Sociedad over the last few weeks. Arsenal have lacked quality cover for Bukayo Saka in recent years but could fix that problem with a cut-price move for Chiesa.

Juventus are reportedly willing to sell Chiesa for as little as £13million, which would be a steal for a player of his calibre and experience. He is primarily deployed as a left winger but would be more than capable of doing a job on the right when Saka needs to be rested.

Chiesa would also be able to compete with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard for starts on his preferred left flank. A deal for the versatile forward would be worth every penny for Arsenal if they can restore his confidence and get him firing on all cylinders again.

The Gunners will need to act quickly to secure his signature, with United and Chelsea already said to have opened initial talks. Chiesa has received offers from both clubs, according to Sport, but is yet to reach any agreement which could give Arsenal a short window to pounce.

It remains to be seen if Mikel Arteta will decide to sanction a late move for Chiesa before the summer window closes next week. He has been described as ‘world class’ by former Italy defender Alessandro Pierini, who believes he would be a shrewd pickup for any European club.

“He’s world class, he has all the ability and desire of a great player,” said Pierini after being left impressed by Chiesa’s displays for Italy at Euro 2020. “If he improves then he’ll be even better than his father [Enrico]. I have loads of respect for Enrico and all he has done to help Federico come on as a player until now.”