Arsenal are looking into whether a deal for Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz can be done in this window, a sign that Mikel Arteta is still pressing to finish his summer plans for a run at both the Champions League and Premier League. The 21-year-old has climbed high on Arsenal's target list as the club tries to strengthen the left side of its attack.
The timing matters because Vinicius Jr had been the ideal target, and his decision to stay at the Bernabeu forced Arsenal to rethink the position they wanted to upgrade most. That has left Yildiz, another player Arteta is especially keen on, as one of the clearest options now that the original plan has gone cold.
Arsenal had already been weighing whether to wait until January or even next summer for other moves to open up, and that hesitation has not gone away. Junior Kroupi would probably have been the next step had injury not intervened, and he remains an option for January, but the club is still active now because the left side remains a priority for Arteta.
Juventus are expected to be hard line. They value Yildiz as one of their burgeoning talents and are likely to ask for upwards of £60m, which is exactly the kind of figure that turns a straightforward target into a difficult one. That is why one idea already raised is a player exchange involving Gabriel Martinelli, though it has not moved beyond that stage.
There is also the shadow of Julian Alvarez over the same search. He had been Arsenal's main target after Vinicius, but that interest cooled once it became clear he wanted to stay in Spain and go to Barcelona, while Atletico are currently completely unwilling to deal with Barcelona. For Arsenal, the market has narrowed quickly, and that leaves Martinelli at the center of the next decision: push now for Yildiz, wait for January, or leave the move for next summer if Juventus do not bend.
