Arsenal interested in Bissouma and Eriksen
Arsenal are interested in signing Yves Bissouma and Christian Eriksen, according to Alex Crook of Talksport.
The Gunners and Liverpool are keeping tabs on Bissouma who has had an impressive season so far at Brighton. The Mali international signed for the Seagulls from French side Lille in the summer of 2018. He has made 66 appearances for the club since moving to England. This season, he has scored one goal in nine appearances for Graham Potter’s side. The Brighton midfielder ranks joint fifth in the Premier League for tackles made in the 2020/21 campaign (29).
Speaking on the Jim White show, Crook said:
“Bissouma is a player Arteta is a big fan of. I know Arsenal are by no means the only big six club keeping tabs on him. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is also monitoring his situation as he looks for a replacement for the out of contract Gini Wijnaldum.”
“Bissouma himself is contracted until 2023 so next summer would usually be the time when they would start negotiating a potential new deal.”
A player who the Gunners could sign even earlier than Bissouma is Christian Eriksen. The former Spurs midfielder has been a bit-part player at Inter Milan this season as he does not fit into manager Antonio Conte’s preferred system. This season, he has made nine appearances for the Italian side in all competitions but been in the starting lineup just four times. Both Eriksen and Inter Milan are keen on ending their association this January.
On Eriksen’s situation, Crook said:
“We know it hasn’t worked out particularly well for Eriksen since he joined Inter Milan. He only has three league starts this season. I know Mikel Arteta is hoping for a busy January and Eriksen, I understand, is on his list of potential targets.”
“Arsenal are crying out for some creativity after making their worst ever start to a Premier League season. A stumbling block could be about how Eriksen himself could feel about crossing that North London divide.”
Eriksen’s price tag is unlikely to be in excess of £20 million and this would represent great value for the Gunners. Arsenal have made their worst start to a Premier League season and are in dire need of a player like Eriksen who is proven in the Premier League and would go a long way towards solving their creativity problem. The North London side have scored just ten goals in their first ten Premier League games and rank above just three teams in the league for shots taken.
