With Manchester City and Arsenal being two out of the Premier League’s three standout teams, it is expected for them to be eyeing a similar pool of players to bolster their respective sides.
Gone are the days when Manchester City let Mikel Arteta’s side hit new heights by signing Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Arsenal are one of the best teams in the world now and as a result, it seems unlikely that City will be willing to do business with them in the near future.
Having finished third last season, Pep Guardiola wishes to win the Premier League title again and naturally, the Catalan tactician would view the Gunners as a side that could stand in the way of his dreams.
Arsenal were interested in signing Man City defender Vitor Reis
One player who was heavily linked with a move to both clubs before he chose to make a move to the Etihad Stadium in January was Vitor Reis.
Despite making just three appearances at City last season, Khaldoon Al Mubarak dubbed Reis as a “tremendous” player and tipped him to become a top player.
The Athletic have revealed that Arsenal held a “considerable interest” in signing the 19-year-old as their intention was to bring in a young centre-back to act as an understudy to William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
As a result, Arsenal were keen on signing Dean Huijsen when he was at AFC Bournemouth as well as Reis, who Manchester City rate very highly and will be happy to have signed.
Man City and Arsenal’s recent transfer battles
However, both clubs have been embroiled in several transfer battles over the years.
The Mirror reported that the Gunners were interested in signing Rayan Cherki.
However, Cherki looks set to join Manchester City instead of Arsenal.
But Declan Rice chose Arsenal over Manchester City.
Manchester City chose not to sign Rice as they did not intend to pay a club-record fee to secure his services.
| MAN CITY AND ARSENAL’S RECENT TRANSFER BATTLES | |
| PLAYER | EVENTUAL DESTINATION |
| RAYAN CHERKI | UNCONFIRMED (LIKELY MAN CITY) |
| DECLAN RICE | ARSENAL |
| RAYAN AIT-NOURI | UNCONFIRMED (LIKELY MAN CITY) |
Arsenal held talks to sign Rayan Ait-Nouri, who City were keen on signing as far back as April 2024.
But Ait-Nouri is set to join Manchester City, which shows that their quest to sign Reis alongside Arsenal is a common occurrence.
