Arsenal’s two Ilkay Gundogan alternatives as Man City captain agrees Barca move

Arsenal have fallen short in their attempts to entice Ilkay Gundogan into a move to the Emirates Stadium upon the expiry of his Manchester City contract on June 30. The Germany international is now set to sign a two-year contract with Barcelona as he prepares to end his seven-year stay with the Premier League and European champions after completing a historic treble.

Gundogan also snubbed interest from former club Borussia Dortmund and Saudi Arabia to join Barca after receiving assurances he would be successfully registered to feature in La Liga next season.

Arsenal had made an audacious play to sign the 32-year-old City captain following background talks with his representatives and were cautiously optimistic that Mikel Arteta’s strong personal relationship with Gundogan could potentially aid their chances of luring the player to north London.

But now the Gunners will be forced to pursue alternative midfielder targets although their attempts to sign Gundogan were totally unrelated to their talks to sign West Ham captain Declan Rice, who is Arsenal’s undisputed top summer target and has already been the subject of two rejected bids.

That said, Arteta is keen to freshen up his midfield options and is even prepared to offload mainstay Thomas Partey as part of his ruthless overhaul with Granit Xhaka also expected to join Bayer Leverkusen.

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Partey is now attracting growing interest from Saudi Arabia with at least four Pro League sides – the latest of which is Al-Shabab – believed to be in loose discussions over the prospect of signing the Ghanaian, who arrived from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2020.

Should Arsenal find a suitable buyer for Partey, they are ready to invest further cash in their midfield with Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia the two main targets of interest.

Although reports have suggested Arsenal have cooled their interest in Caicedo, the Gunners remain open to signing the Brighton starlet if a move is deemed financially viable after the player pushed to join the Gunners in January by handing in a formal transfer request.

Brighton are thought to be commanding a fee of up to £100m to sell the highly-coveted 21-year-old which could prove to be out of Arsenal’s financial reach as they prepare to sanction a £100m deal for Rice on top of the £67.5m arrival of Kai Havertz from Chelsea.

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That’s where Lavia enters the fray as the Belgian could be available for less than half of that figure.

Southampton are currently asking for £45m for the 19-year-old but there is optimism that valuation will be slashed later in the window following their relegation to the Championship.

Arsenal have already made progress on personal terms with Lavia but are yet to approach the Saints to formalise their interest.

Another player to watch is Everton’s Amadou Onana, who is understood to have attracted admirers at Arsenal although he is not among their primary targets.

The Belgian is thought to be seeking a new challenge this summer after helping the Toffees preserve their top-flight status on the final day of the Premier League season with a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth.

But having joined the club for an initial £34m fee last summer from Lille, Everton are likely to command upwards of £40m for the box-to-box midfielder.

Arsenal and Chelsea, who are another interested club, are not likely to pay that figure meaning a deal does not currently look feasible.

Albert Sambi Lokonga has also been made available for transfer after two underwhelming seasons with the Gunners and his departure could help bolster transfer funds.

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