Arsenal chief Edu admits he’s a huge admirer of Lucas Paqueta but refuses to comment on transfer speculation
ARSENAL transfer chief Edu has admitted he has "always liked" Lyon playmaker Lucas Paqueta.
But the Gunners' technical director remained coy when discussing a potential move for the 24-year-old attacking midfielder.
Paqueta is a player who has been repeatedly linked with Arsenal in recent months.
Newcastle are also thought to be interested after he scored ten goals and provided seven assists in all competitions for Lyon last season.
Edu, 44, knows Paqueta well from his time as team coordinator for the Brazil national team.
Speaking about the midfielder, Edu told : "I’m very respectful when I talk about Lucas.
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"I’m a guy who likes him a lot, I’ve always liked him, since my time with Brazil’s national team.
"He’s had a great season, he was considered the best [overseas] player in the French league."
Edu though hinted that the Gunners are already stacked in Paqueta's position in the form of Martin Odegaard, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe.
He continued: "But today, there really isn’t any kind of talk, there’s only my admiration for the player, because the squad today is, in the position he plays, I think we’re very well served in this regard."
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The Gunners have already made five signings this summer - Oleksandr Zinchenko's £32million move from Manchester City the latest of those.
And Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta doesn't plan on stopping at five.
The Spaniard revealed the club will continue to be busy both in terms of incomings and outgoings up until the end of the window.
He said: "I think we are completing what we planned. There is still a few things that we would like to do in and out and that will be determined by the possibilities that are on the market.
"We still have some players that are in contention to stay or go and the moment we have news we will communicate that."
When asked if he knows how many more signings he wants, Arteta said: "We do have a number. We cannot share it."
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Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas confirmed earlier the summer that the club had received transfer offers for Paqueta.
He said: "There are proposals for him. There are certain players who can feel complete in the project, and others who don’t."