Premier League giants Arsenal are reportedly set to withdraw their interest in World Cup winning French midfielder Steven N’Zonzi.
Arsenal are set to back out from the race to sign Sevilla midfielder Steven N’Zonzi this summer, as per reports from Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo.
The Gunners are understood to have been long-term admirers of the French international, who went on to lift the 2018 FIFA World Cup this past weekend. The rumours further picked up steam following the appointment of Unai Emery as the new Arsenal manager this summer, given the history that the Spaniard shared with N’Zonzi.
It was Emery who brought the 29-year old to Seville back in the summer of 2015, from English club Stoke City. The pair worked together only for a season, but under the current Arsenal boss N’Zonzi grew into a top midfielder in Spain, playing a critical role in Sevilla’s UEFA Europa League triumph in his debut campaign.
Since then, the Frenchman has only gone from strength to strength, establishing himself as one of the best in his position in the La Liga, while putting on a series of impressive displays in Europe as well. N’Zonzi racked up 44 appearances for the Spanish outfit across all competitions in the season gone by, finding the back of the net on one occasion and setting up two more.
The likes of Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur had also been linked with a move for the World Cup winner along with Arsenal. But now, the Gunners seem to have withdrawn from the chase, with manager Emery recently claiming that he does not expect any major more arrivals at the North London outfit this summer.
Asked about the midfielder, Emery said: “I know him but we haven’t made a move for him. Today, we are OK. Maybe we can bring in one if there’s a very good possibility for them to help us. But the club has done a great job of signing new players and I am happy.”
Arsenal have had a great summer transfer window so far under their new manager. The Gunners signed defenders Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopoulos early in the window, before completing the transfer of goalkeeper Bernd Leno. They have also landed Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Torreira and French youngster Matteo Guendouzi recently.
N’Zonzi still has two years left on his contract with Sevilla, and has a £35 million release clause. And Sevilla have time and again reiterated that any club wanting to land their prized asset will have to trigger that clause. With Arsenal already strengthening their midfield by signing Torreira, it does seem unlikely that they will shell out that much money on another midfielder this summer.
