Florentino and Guardiola unite against Arteta: a double blow for Arsenal this summer

Real Madrid and Manchester City seem to have a common goal.

Real Madrid’s sporting planning is always splashed with transfer market rumors every summer. Most of this speculation places various players in the orbit of the Whites, especially in those positions that the White executives want to reinforce most urgently.

The great priority of the Whites’ board in the current summer market is the center of defense. Knowing that Real Madrid is looking for a center-back to expand its options after the departure of Nacho Fernández as a free agent and the doubts surrounding the return of David Alaba, several media outlets in England such as ‘ExpressSport’ have reportedly placed William Saliba on Florentino Pérez’s agenda.

In addition to Real Madrid’s own ‘need’ to sign a center-back, from the British Isles they understand that the Arsenal’s ‘2’ would not have a place in the squad coached by Mikel Arteta thanks to the signing of Riccardo Calafiori: the Italian center-back, a new addition to the Gunners, has cost his new owners 53 million euros… and would arrive with enough credentials to take the starting place at the Emirates Stadium.

A two-for-one that is impossible

This signing would take Saliba out of Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up. But the Basque coach would see his squad further depleted if the rumors are true: Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have been interested in one of his key pillars, the English striker Bukayo Saka.

While it is true that the right winger has not had a great European Championship, the digital media ‘CaughtOffSide’ points out that the Catalan coach is a “long-time admirer” of Saka himself, an interest that could be resolved during the current summer market.

Despite the information reported by these media outlets, it seems very unlikely that Arsenal will let two of their best players go in the same transfer window. If they did, both Real Madrid and Manchester City would need to make big offers to the Emirates Stadium offices: William Saliba has a market value of 80 million euros, while Bukayo Saka is valued at 140 million.