Arsenal transfer news: Gunners in chaos as transfer window opens with club failing to land targets and set to lose stars
Gunners falling further adrift of rivals as key players eye exit while club struggles to secure deals for new signings
Sponsored by
THE summer transfer window opens on Saturday with Arsenal in a state of chaos.
Clubs across Europe have spent the last month wrapping up deals to bring in new players as early as possible ahead of pre-season.
Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea have all been heavily active looking to strengthen their squads for the coming campaign.
But Arsenal's attempts to make up the ground they lost as they slumped down to fifth last season have so far floundered.
If anything they are on the verge of falling further behind their rivals, with several senior players keen to force their way out out of the club.
Having insisted the loss of Champions League football would not change who they were targeting, the Gunners aimed big by entering the race to sign Kylian Mbappe.
That move looks to have run its course with Mbappe showing no desire to move and Monaco insisting bids in excess of £100million still won't convince them to sell.
Monaco are also proving hard to deal with for another French target, Thomas Lemar, and the chances of Arsenal will have to accept defeat in their attempts to sign the midfielder.
Latest Arsenal transfer news
That leaves just Alexandre Lacazette remaining of the first three picks, but though Lyon might be willing to accept a £50m bid, the striker is not keen on joining a club out of the Champions League.
As it stands, the Gunners squad will report for pre-season training next week with just one new face - Saed Kolasinac, signed on a free transfer from Schalke.
In contrast, City have signed Bernardo Silva and goalkeeper Ederson to improve their squad, with a couple more deals close to being finalised.
Chelsea are on the verge of announcing the captures of Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco and Alex Sandro from Juventus.
United have splashed out on Victor Lindelof, with deals for Alvaro Morata and Nemanja Matic also in the pipeline in the coming days.
But instead of being sure who he is working with, Arsene Wenger doesn't even know who from his old squad will still be with him for the start of the season.
Alexis Sanchez, their best player by a long way, looks to be heading to Manchester City after failing to commit his future to the Gunners on Friday.
Right-back Hector Bellerin is being chased by Barcelona and is finding it hard to turn down the advances of his former club.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also considering his options, unsure whether to stay at the Emirates in the face of interest from Chelsea and Liverpool among others.
Striker Olivier Giroud still needs convincing he has a regular role to play in Wenger's side before he agrees to stay for another season at the club.
And forwards Theo Walcott and Lucas Perez could also be pushing for a move, needing regular starts to boost their own chances of playing in next summer's World Cup.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest transfer news and speculation with our live transfer feed
