Arsenal submit £30m-plus offer for key Mikel Arteta transfer target

Arsenal have submitted a £30million-plus offer for Norwich City star Emiliano Buendia, according to reports.

The Argentinian midfielder has emerged as one of Mikel Arteta’s key transfer targets this summer following another impressive campaign at Carrow Road.

The 24-year-old scored 15 goals and made 16 assists in 39 Championship appearances as Norwich stormed to the title to secure their return to the English top-flight at the first attempt.

Norwich are expected to lose star player Buendia this summer, with Arsenal and Aston Villa keen to secure his signature before next season.

The Sun say both Arsenal and Villa have made £30m-plus offers for Buendia, but the transfer tussle is far from over as Norwich value him at £40m.

The Canaries are under no financial pressure to sell the midfielder and expect Arsenal and Villa to return with improved bids in the next few days.

Arsenal expressed interest in signing Buendia in January but the club decided to wait until the end of the season to make their move.

The Gunners face fierce competition from Villa, however, with Dean Smith also keen to bolster his squad following an encouraging campaign in which his team finished 11th.

Former England star Danny Mills is a huge admirer of Buendia and reckons he should choose Aston Villa over Arsenal.

‘You want to play, that’s the most important thing,’ he told Football Insider. ‘Villa are probably looking at it as a replacement for Ross Barkley.

‘Jack Grealish could even move on at some point. With Arsenal, it’s a little bit scattergun. We’re not really sure what’s going on with them at the moment.

‘We don’t know what direction they’re heading in, what style of play they’re going to play. There’s a lot of unanswered questions.

‘On the face of it in terms of stability Arsenal were back in the day a bigger club and had better prospects. But actually, you need stability and you want to play and actually, that would be Villa.’

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