Arsenal reach agreement for Spanish wonderkid: report
Arsenal look set to add a Spanish superstar to their side after beating Newcastle United to his signature
Arsenal have reached an agreement to complete their third signing of the January transfer window.
The table toppers had a tough start to the winter window with priority target Mykhaylo Mudryk opting to join Chelsea for an eye-watering £88 million over the Gunners. Manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar reacted fast, however, bringing in Leandro Trossard from Brighton & Hove Albion for a fraction of the fee.
Having completed a move for Spezia centre-back Jakub Kiwior, too, Arteta is eyeing even more defensive cover, as he aims to fight on three fronts in the second half of the season.
The Athletic has reported that both Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund have agreed deals for Ivan Fresneda of Real Valladolid.
The 18-year-old has impressed this season but was left out of the starting line-up for the weekend's fixture against Atletico Madrid with a transfer imminent. Having been described as a midfielder playing a full-back, there are clear comparisons to Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Arsenal currently have Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu as options at right-back but both are considered more natural centre-backs. The latter replaced the former at the weekend for the Gunners in the win against Manchester United – but Arteta would no doubt like another option to call upon who functions more similarly to Zinchenko on the opposite flank.
If Arsenal had an option at right-back who could function more like the Ukrainian, the door would then be open for Kieran Tierney to perhaps force himself back into the starting line-up as a more orthodox left-back.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Arsenal's only other right-back option, Cedric Soares, appears to be on the move to Fulham.
Fresneda is valued at just €1m by Transfermarkt.
More Arsenal stories
Arsenal are considering re-signing Yunus Musah, while Cody Gakpo was an option, too – Joao Felix emerged as a potential superstar signing at the Emirates Stadium, too.
Mikel Arteta has admitted the Gunners are looking for new signings, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic having been linked.
Gabriel Martinelli's contract situation is being watched by Barcelona, meanwhile.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.