Arsenal ‘admire’ Lucas Paqueta

Football journalist Ben Jacobs has provided an update on the situation surrounding reported Arsenal transfer target Lucas Paqueta.

The lowdown: Arsenal interested in Paqueta

The Gunners have been heavily linked with a move for the Lyon attacking midfielder in recent weeks, with reports out of France confirming that technical director Edu is a huge fan of the 24-year-old.

Having asked to leave the Ligue 1 club earlier in the window, the Brazil international – who was signed for €35m (£29m) from AC Milan in 2019 (ESPN) – has also been courted by Tottenham, Everton and Premier League champions Manchester City.

One well-informed onlooker has now shed some light on the current state of play as Arsenal vie for the capture of Paqueta…

The latest: ‘Interesting one’

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jacobs – a journalist for CBS Sports – has claimed that the north Londoners ‘admire’ the 33-cap Brazil star but are currently no further along in making a deal happen.

He said: “Paqueta’s still an interesting one; Arsenal’s interest is real. They admire the player, but they haven’t really moved.

“They’ve never placed an offer, so when Jean-Michel Aulas spoke of lots of offers, I think I was one of the first to report that Arsenal and Newcastle were not teams that had ever gone to Lyon, they’d simply explored the option with the agent.”

The verdict: Go all-out

Available for a mooted £55m this summer and earning a mooted £49,000 per week at present (Salary Sport), signing Paqueta to bolster the attacking options at Mikel Arteta’s disposal would be an expensive venture for the Gunners.

However, boasting a variety of outstanding attacking attributes and hailed as a ‘magician’ by Lyon’s official Twitter channel, the balletic Brazilian would be a wholly worthwhile addition to the Emirates Stadium ranks.

Predominantly operating as an attacking midfielder, Paqueta scored 10 times and provided seven assists in 42 appearances across all competitions last term, earning a 7.13 Sofascore rating whilst winning 7.3 duels, completing 2.3 dribbles and making 1.2 key passes per top-flight outing in the process.

That form, age category and need for further reinforcements in N5 amidst links to Jarrod Bowen and Youri Tielemans make the cultured ace a potentially superb prospective capture for Arsenal, and one that Edu should be pushing to get over the line.