Duncan Castles has been speaking on the latest edition of The Transfer Window podcast about news from various Premier League clubs.
One of the teams that he spent a little bit of time on was Arsenal and their transfer plans, and it seems as if the Gunners want a creative/box-to-box midfielder but have limited funds to bring anyone in.
He said: “Their priority in this window, in midfield, has been a creative midfielder.
“Basically, someone who is a cross between a number eight and a number ten, so a box-to-box midfielder with the creativity and pass creation skills.
“I am told they are working on a pretty limited budget to do that of about €20m.
“So you want a player who would take a fundamental role in the team and change the midfield in an important way, but you are trying to do it for a price that’s going to be very difficult to achieve.”
Do you believe this is Arsenal's budget?
No, surely we have more
Yes, this could be right
TIF Thoughts on Arsenal’s budget and transfer plans…
The Gunners have picked up form in recent games in the Premier League, but that looks like it still hasn’t stopped the club from trying to sign a creative midfielder.
When you look at the attacking output from the likes of Mohamed Elneny, Dani Ceballos, Granit Xhaka, and Thomas Partey, then it is no wonder.
Emile Smith-Rowe’s inclusion has helped as he has scored one goal and provided two assists in the last four matches.
However, you would think that he could do with some support considering that he has only made 20 senior appearances for Arsenal.
If Castles is to be believed though, it doesn’t look like Arsenal have much money to spend to try and get that player that they want, so we wouldn’t be surprised if the Gunners do not get the creative addition they apparently crave.