Arsenal transfer news: Six targets for Arsene Wenger’s Gunners ahead of massive summer clear-out

ARSENAL look set for a busy summer following another Premier League capitulation.

Arsene Wenger’s Gunners looked in a good position to snatch the top flight for the first time in well over a decade this term, but their collapse combined with Leicester’s brilliance saw them fade.

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The sole bright spot was the final day leapfrogging of arch rivals Tottenham, but that aside, there is work to be done in the summer.

Following last summer’s reluctance to delve deep into the transfer market, Wenger already looks set to be a busy bee this time around, with an £80million kitty to play with.

With big names such as Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and even Alexis Sanchez on the potential ‘to sell’ list, the French boss will need reinforcements, and quickly at that...

SunSport runs down the top six targets for Arsenal in the summer transfer window.

ALVARO MORATA — £51m

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ARSENAL’S main let-down in the 2015-16 campaign was the misfiring forwards.

Giroud went from spectacular to woeful on an almost weekly basis — including a whopping 15-game goal drought — while Walcott and Co were equally inconsistent.

With £80m to spend, Wenger may consider splashing out on Juventus’ Spanish striker Alvaro Morata — especially now Danny Welbeck has been ruled out for nine months.

Now, the former Real Madrid man, 23, won’t come cheap — at a reported £51m — but with 11 goals and ten assists to his name for the Serie A champions last term, he could be a perfect fit at the Emirates.

The Bernabeu giants have a £23m buy-back clause on the striker, but are unlikely to use it, giving Arsenal a great chance at landing their No1 target.

GRANIT XHAKA — £34m

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THE Gunners have already reportedly tabled a £34m bid for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Swiss star Granit Xhaka.

In fact, the wheels are so set in motion that the deal may be announced BEFORE this summer’s European Championships in France.

Xhaka, 23, is also on a Pep Guardiola-led Manchester City shortlist — but the Switzerland midfielder is keen on a London switch at this stage.

One minor speed bump for Wenger on this front however, is that the Bundesliga side are yet to source a replacement for their star man and are apprehensive to sign on the dotted line until someone else is lined up.

Interestingly, Arsenal will need to pay over the odds if they are to land Xhaka; the central midfielder has a £19.7m release clause written into his contract — but it doesn’t come into effect until next season.

They are now set to pay nearly double to land their man.

MARIO GOTZE — £16m

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LIVERPOOL may be the favourites to land German star Gotze — but that’s not to say Wenger won’t make an 11th-hour bid to steal the forward away.

With the former Borussia Dortmund man, 23, well down the pecking order at current club Bayern Munich, Gotze may even be available at ridiculously cheap £16m.

That figure would represent a £14m loss for Bayern on the £30m they originally forked out to land Gotze from Dortmund in 2013.

However, they appear willing to write him off at a loss rather than risk losing him for nothing when his contract expires at the end of next season.

Now the big question for Gotze: Arsenal or Liverpool?

HENRIKH MKHITARYAN — £20m

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WITH star forward Sanchez allegedly being touted by Europe’s big-wigs, including Juventus and Bayern Munich, Wenger may turn his attention to Dortmund forward Mkhitaryan.

The Armenian No10 — who netted against Liverpool in the thrilling Europa League quarter-final clash at Anfield — has previously been chased by the Reds and Arsenal’s fierce rivals Tottenham.

And with even more midfield stars, such as Mathieu Flamini, Tomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta also set to leave the Emirates, Wenger may choose to splash out the £20m required to bring Mkhitaryan to London.

RIYAD MAHREZ & N’GOLO KANTE — £60m

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IT’S double your money time, as Gunners boss Wenger is reportedly chasing Leicester’s title-winning star duo Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante.

With an almost complete overhaul of the Arsenal midfield expected this summer, the club are lining up an audacious swoop for two of the most talked about middle-men of the 2015-16 season.

The Foxes pair were integral cogs in the Claudio Ranieri machine and Wenger believes the duo would be a perfect fit at the Emirates.

However, if Wenger wants to get his hands on the stars, it will set him back around £60m to do so.

Given that Mahrez cost Leicester only £400,000, they could be tempted to cash in, despite the Algerian’s heroics in leading the Foxes to the most unlikely of Premier League titles.

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TOTAL COST — £181m

SO, the combined cost of these six superstars is a whopping £101m over budget.

But with at least ten faces set to leave north London in July, they may earn that money straight back from transfers alone.

But the question remains, will the notoriously frugal Wenger finally be coerced into splashing the cash this time around?