According to reports in Spain, Arsenal are interested in signing Athletic Club midfielder Oihan Sancet. 

The Gunners are preparing for one of their biggest games of the season this weekend as they face a clash against rivals Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon. It comes after they got back to winning ways in the league with a 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest last weekend.

However, Mikel Arteta’s side also began their Champions League campaign, by beating La Liga side Athletic Club 2-0 at Stadium San Mames on Tuesday night. It is the ideal start for Arsenal in the Champions League after they made the semi-finals of the competition last year.

During the game, they faced off against midfielder Oihan Sancet, who was a bright spark for a tough Bilbao side. It now seems that Arteta likes what he saw of the 25-year-old, with a potential view to signing him.

Arsenal willing to offer £69m for Sancet

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes via Football Transfers, Arsenal are reportedly very keen on the Bilbao midfielder and his performance against them on Tuesday very much caught the eye of manager Arteta.

The report goes on to claim that Arsenal would be willing to offer up to £69m to sign Sancet, despite his estimated market value being just around the £50m mark. Sancet plays as a box to box midfielder, who is great both defensively and in playmaking, he’s the ideal all rounder in midfield.

Last season, the Basque native made 29 La Liga appearances, scoring an impressive 15 goals, and providing one assist. He is no stranger to finding the net, and could be Arsenal’s next great attacking midfielder.

How would the Gunners afford Sancet?

The biggest issue is the midfielder’s price, and the fact that Bilbao will be reluctant to sell him as he is from the Basque region. So Arsenal would need to come in with a hefty offer.

There have been reports suggesting that if William Saliba decides not to sign a new contract, he could leave to join Real Madrid or PSG, which would easily help fund a deal for Sancet as Arsenal’s valuation of Saliba is likely to be well above £70m.

However, the Gunners won’t want to sell him, and so may have to look at other options such as Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus, who are far down in Arteta’s squad in terms of the ‘depth chart’, so could be good sales to generate some more transfer budget.

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