Our landlord reckons there could be a potential scuffle on our hands after our Arsenal supporting contingent have just piped up that their team is well and truly leaving Liverpool behind.
Following the Gunners’ 4-1 mauling over the Reds back in April that effectively ended their Champions League qualification hopes, Arsene Wenger’s men have gone on to seal a second successive FA Cup while Liverpool fans have had to cope with the loss of Steven Gerrard, not to mention Raheem Sterling gate.
One thing our Arsenal fans are jealous of Liverpool in regards to however is how quickly they have gone about completing their summer transfer business so far.
While they are quick to claim they’re not so jealous about the likes of James Milner, Danny Ings and Adam Bogdan arriving, Liverpool are in fact getting their business done early and this has proved a massive problem for Arsenal in previous windows who are infamous for dithering and penny pinching in the market.
Despite their differences in qualifying for the Champions League and Europa League respectively, many transfer targets are being linked to both Arsenal and Liverpool right now and our landlord has somewhat tried to keep the peace by getting both sets of fans together to talk over a few of these players.
Here we have identified five transfer targets who Brendan Rodgers and Arsene Wenger could be fighting over this summr.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 players Arsenal and Liverpool will fight over this summer.
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Geoffrey Kondogbia
Geoffrey Kondogbia is a man in demand this summer after a good season with Monaco whereby he impressed against Arsenal in the Champions League with a goal in their shock first leg victory at Emirates Stadium in the round of the last sixteen.
Tall, powerful and energetic, Kondogbia looks ready-made for the Premier League with the Gunners and Reds continuing to be linked to a player that will probably be cashed in upon this summer, and that is according to his current manager Leonardo Jardim!
On the face of it, Arsenal could perhaps do with the player more given Liverpool have just signed James Milner and boast Joe Allen, Jordan Henderson, Lucas Leiva and Emre Can in central midfield but our resident Reds fans are claiming they’d like more steel in their ranks.
If Kondogbia arrived at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger’s defensive-minded options would be improved massively and he could rotate between the French international and the ever improving Francis Coquelin.
Carlos Bacca
If ever the Europa League Final was a shop window for Europe’s bigger predators to scout a player ahead of a potential summer swoop, it was the recent 2015 Warsaw showpiece in which Carlos Bacca again displayed his clinical prowess in front of goal.
Bagging a brace in an eventual 3-2 victory over Ukrainian counterparts Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, these two strikes were in addition to his mighty haul of 20 goals in La Liga this past season.
The Colombian international, who is currently figuring for his country at the Copa America in Chile, hasn’t necessarily committed to Sevilla for next term either claiming: “I don’t know what will happen this summer.
“Right now I want to enjoy this moment because I don’t know if we can repeat it. My future depends on God.”
According to The Express, they report that bids of £21 million from Arsenal and Liverpool might be enough to tempt the Andalusian side into selling the player who is also interesting Manchester United.
Rolando Aarons
We only saw brief glimpses of the talent in which Newcastle United’s Rolando Aarons possesses last term due to his long spells out with injury but in those few appearances, we understood just why the Magpies starlet is rated so highly.
Boasting electric pace, trickery and an eye for goal, Aarons is still very much one for the future but could also be one for the here and now as a super sub also and our resident Magpies fans would hate to see him flee St James’ Park so soon.
Back in March, it was reported by Metro that Newcastle had placed contract talks with Aarons on hold, alerting the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool in the process.
If Liverpool do eventually end up losing Raheem Sterling to the Citizens, perhaps Aarons – a similar player in style and background, having also been born in Jamaica – would be an ideal transfer replacement?
The Reds do boast Jordon Ibe who can play in the same position and he is expected to enjoy a prosperous 2015/16 campaign but our resident Liverpool fans think the potential signing of Aarons isn’t such a bad idea.
Luciano Vietto
For seemingly most Arsenal fans, what they crave the most this summer is the arrival of a truly world class striker to add competition up top with Olivier Giroud ahead of potentially scooping the Premier League title.
The names Gonzalo Higuain, Jackson Martinez and Alexandre Lacazette have been mentioned on countless occasions in recent weeks but with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain all keen on these players too, Arsenal could yet again miss out on one of the trio.
If Arsene Wenger so typically dithers in the market, as we have come to expect on many occasions in the past, perhaps a plan B option could be a swoop for Luciano Vietto?
Villarreal’s Argentine striker struck 12 goals in La Liga this past season and has been linked heavily with an Arsenal or Liverpool switch.
He seems to fit Brendan Rodgers’ transfer policy too being that he is 21, technically gifted and on the cusp of international recognition at the senior level.
The English duo might need to get a move on if their intentions of signing Vietto are genuine however with Metro having reported yesterday that the striker has already decided to move to La Liga giants Atletico Madrid.
Stephan El Shaarawy
As mentioned on our previous slide, if first choice striking targets decide to move elsewhere this summer, both Arsenal and Liverpool might be forced to look for more of a left-field option.
That option could well be AC Milan’s Stephan El Shaarawy who is still a talented player despite his stock having fallen somewhat in recent times.
Our punters scoff that the Italian forward is seemingly linked every transfer window, only to remain at the San Siro and rather similarly, the Daily Star reported recently that his agent has claimed he could be leaving this time round.
Not a concrete indication of a departure by any stretch of the imagination but El Shaarawy seems to fit the mould of a player who Brendan Rodgers likes – young, up-and-coming and talented.
Interestingly, El Shaarawy’s agent is actually his brother and he recently claimed: “Let’s see what happens with the team this summer, the transfer campaign seems a bit different from recent years.
“A move for El Shaarway? There have been several teams interested, Stephan is a player who lots of teams like.
“There were several offers, both in January and now in the summer, offers which we looked at.
“We can’t rule anything out, the transfer market is always the transfer market.”
