Premier League side Arsenal are set to make an offer of €60m for Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo this week, according to reports.
The Gunners have had a decent season so far in the Premier League with Mikel Arteta’s side currently second in the table and six points off leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Arsenal boasted the best defensive record in the Premier League last season and have continued their record into this term too with just 18 goals conceded in their first 20 matches.
However, at times injuries to key players at the back and elsewhere in their side have threatened to derail their season with Arsenal initially attempting to compete on four fronts.
Things have not been going to plan over the last week though, with Arsenal losing the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle 2-0, while they exited the FA Cup at the third round stage as Manchester United defeated them on penalties on Sunday.
And now Arsenal boss Arteta is looking to add strength and depth to his ranks with reports in Spain claiming the Gunners have ‘raised their offer’ for Barcelona centre-back Araujo.
Arteta is ‘willing to go all out to get the Uruguayan centre-back’, who is also attracting strong interest from Juventus, and ‘according to sources close to the London club, Arsenal will present a 60 million euro offer this week.’
The report adds:
‘The Premier League is the most likely destination for Araujo , and everything points to Mikel Arteta being obsessed with adding the defender to his project at Arsenal. The Spanish coach believes that Araujo ‘s physical strength, speed and leadership fit perfectly into his scheme, especially to compete in the Champions League and in the fight for the English league.
‘Arsenal are also willing to beat any offer from Turin, where Juventus had already shown strong interest in the centre-back. The Italians wanted to close a deal before the end of January, but the arrival of the English team puts the Bianconeri in a difficult situation.’
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Arsenal face Tottenham in the North London Derby on Wednesday and former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson is predicting an “unlikely” win for Ange Postecoglou’s side at the Emirates Stadium.
Robinson told Betfred: “This is a tough one to call because both teams went to extra-time on Sunday in their respective FA Cup matches. Tottenham have won one in 31 games at Arsenal, drawing 12 and losing 18. They’ve conceded in every game at Arsenal since 1999, so Tottenham’s record going there isn’t great. Tottenham have won one of their last eight Premier League games and that win was against Southampton, so that shows you where they are in the league.
“It’s a tough game to call after Arsenal’s defeats to Newcastle United and Manchester United and because Tottenham are involved, you don’t know which Tottenham side is going to turn up. I think there’s a bit of pressure mounting up on Mikel Arteta at the moment, so I think Tottenham will cause them problems. I’m going to back an unlikely Tottenham win.”
