Arsenal are reportedly monitoring Mauro Icardi’s situation at Inter Milan as manager Arsene Wenger looks set to recruit further attacking options this summer. 

That’s according to the Mirror‘s John Cross, who noted the striker “is odds-on to leave” the San Siro in the summer and could be snapped up for £25 million.

Icardi has developed a reputation as one of Serie A’s most predatory finishers and his clinical play has seen him net 15 league goals this season. OptaPaolo revealed another telling stat:

Though the Gunners would undoubtedly hope a marquee forward signing could get closer to—or beyond—the 20-goal mark, the Argentinian has little to feed off at Inter, as football writer Richard Hall noted:

That shouldn’t be a problem at the Emirates Stadium, though, as Mesut Ozil alone has created a phenomenal 141 chances in the Premier League this season, according to Squawka.

With that kind of ammunition, a player as potent as Icardi would likely score for fun—a quality Arsenal desperately need as Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck aren’t nearly prolific enough to fire them to the title as first-choice striking options.

Cross lists Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool as among the other interested parties, though, so Arsenal may have a fight on their hands to get him.

Meanwhile, the Gunners are also “confident” of landing Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach, according to Cross. The 23-year-old looks set to be in demand this summer after an excellent campaign in the Bundesliga.

According to Squawka, the box-to-box midfielder has won 52 tackles and 87 aerial duels this season, as well as making 72 interceptions and completing 81 per cent of his attempted take-ons. Here are some of his highlights:

His dynamic play and bite in the centre of the park would be highly useful at Arsenal, who will need to replace Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky in the summer, according to Cross.

However, Gladbach director of sport Max Eberl is determined to keep his star, per Sky Sports’ Chris Lymberopoulos (h/t DW Sports):

Further, football writer Stefan Bienkowski doubts Wenger will wade into a tussle to get Xhaka:

If Arsenal are to recruit the top stars they need to improve, the Frenchman will need to be more willing to pursue them in the face of opposition.

The Gunners are also targeting defensive reinforcements and have scouted Atletico Madrid’s Lucas Hernandez, according to Cross, who reported they might equally make an offer for Leicester City youngster Ben Chilwell.

Hernandez was promoted to first-team duties at the Vicente Calderon earlier in the season and in his 10 La Liga appearances he has already made 15 tackles, 31 interceptions and 43 clearances, as well as winning 13 headed duels, according to Squawka.

The 20-year-old has a bright future, as does 19-year-old Chilwell, who has impressed in his cameos for the Foxes since returning from a loan spell with Huddersfield Town.

The Premier League champions will be eager to hold onto their exciting prospect, though, as will Los Rojiblancos, so it may take relatively large bids to convince them to part with their youngsters.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1TlD9qN
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J