Arsenal have now asked Real Madrid about signing a highly-rated forward and his teammate, amid Los Blancos’ serious interest in star defender William Saliba, with a potential part-exchange deal mooted this week.
Arsenal cruise into Champions League semi-finals after triumph over Real Madrid
Mikel Arteta made history this week with a stunning 5-1 Champions League aggregate victory over Real Madrid, cruising into the semi-finals after putting the final nail in Carlo Ancelotti’s coffin on Tuesday night.
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Arsenal secured a place in the Champions League semi-final after a 5-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid.
Goals from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli cemented a 2-1 win for Arsenal at the Bernabeu during their return leg, and it was an impressive performance from the Gunners, who largely kept Real quiet on home turf.
Now, Arsenal take on Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain in the semis, and there is every chance they can go on to win the competition. Clinching their first ever European Cup would be quite an end to 2024/2025, with Arteta hopeful that his side can go from challengers to victors.
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Arsenal’s next five Premier League games |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Ipswich Town (away) |
April 20th |
|
Crystal Palace (home) |
April 23rd |
|
Bournemouth (home) |
May 3rd |
|
Liverpool (away) |
May 11th |
|
Newcastle United (home) |
May 18th |
“It’s certainly another massive step,” said Arteta on Arsenal’s chances of winning the Champions League.
“Where we finished last year and the way we’re doing it this year, the teams with their eyes on us and the competition, it’s incredible. Big credit to [Madrid}, it was my first time as a coach in that dugout, and today I realised after three minutes in this stadium, anything is possible. They are specialists of creating such chaos and belief, and it’s very difficult to understand what is really going on in the game and have certain certainty about how we controlled it. I think they showed a lot of maturity.”
Off the field, business could be conducted between both sides this summer, as Real hold a strong interest in Saliba and have done for months.
The France international is an integral part of Arteta’s backline and arguably one of world football’s best central defenders, so new sporting director Andrea Berta and the Arsenal manager are highly unlikely to give him up without a serious fight.
Arsenal ask Real Madrid about signing Endrick in Saliba talks
According to reports out of Spain, Arsenal have floated the idea of a player-exchange if Real Madrid do want Saliba, otherwise they’d have to fork out a minimum of £86 million.
Indeed, it is believed Arsenal have asked Real Madrid about signing Endrick, not to mention Arda Güler, in exchange for Saliba’s services. However, as things stand, their president Florentino Perez is unwilling to part company with either player.
Endrick, who could end up costing Perez around £62 million in add-ons and other clauses after his 2022 transfer from Palmeiras, has struggled for game time under Ancelotti this season – bagging seven goals in 31 appearances but mainly as a substitute.
Despite signing for Real nearly three years ago, this is the “special” 18-year-old’s first full season at the Bernabeu, having made the transfer when he came of age last summer.
