Gyokeres £2.2m claims dispelled, Nwaneri phone call and Rodrygo problem - Arsenal transfer myths

The transfer window always throws up some brilliant stories as fans look for that dopamine hit of an exclusive regarding their club. There are few clubs with a fan base as locked in as Arsenal when it comes to transfers and the north London side has experienced a vast variety of different summers.

From the signing of Petr Cech and no other player in what was seen as a vital window to the record spend that saw the club beat Manchester City to the £105million acquisition of Declan Rice. One of the major issues is the amount of myths and misconceptions that can spiral out of control.

They can come from multiple factors, including conjecture, misreading reports, poor aggregation of stories, and, in some cases, belief in information from a typically good source that ultimately turns out to be inaccurate. Transfers are volatile, and things can change in hours, while club and player agendas can lead to conflicting reports.

Here, football.london discusses the three biggest mistruths of the summer window regarding Arsenal. From Viktor Gyokeres’ ongoing transfer negotiation with Sporting CP to claims about contract renewals being disproven by a player’s own father.

Ethan Nwaneri ‘guarantees’

Arsenal are understood to have agreed a five-year contract with youngster Ethan Nwaneri after talks were held this summer. There was interest from other clubs, unsurprisingly, in the talented player attacking midfielder.

However, there were further suggestions made that the Hale End graduate wanted guarantees over his playing time, which football.london understood to be inaccurate. Speaking on talkSPORT, Dean Saunders explained how Nwaneri’s own father had got in contact to explain that these claims were indeed false.

“I’m on the putting green, at Effingham and Jay Bothroyd went to school with [Nwaneri’s] dad, and he said, ‘Can you put Dean on?’ So I spoke to his dad, and fair play to him he said that [asking for guarantees over playing time] never happened.

“He never demanded… No, he just said it never happened, I said, ‘Well, we were reacting…’ I said, ‘If it’s true, we were reacting to what was said in the newspapers.’ So he should take it up with the newspaper.”

Noni Madueke has blocked a move for Rodrygo

This is a story which is certainly more driven amongst fans than through any bad information. The £52million signing of Noni Madueke, inclusive of add-ons, caused quite the stir among fans and for many legitimate reasons concerning the price tag and the player’s output so far.

However, one myth that began to spread was that the winger’s arrival was the reason Arsenal wouldn’t be able to sign Rodrygo. Claims that the price tag blocked the move and so on.

This is not the case. Arsenal currently have two left wingers at the club in Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard; furthermore, interest in Eberechi Eze, which has been widely reported to be separate from the signing of Madueke, adds even more options to the left.

For the signing of Rodrygo to materialise, Arsenal would need to sell one of their current two left-wing options. Madueke becomes Arsenal’s second option on the right, while Gyokeres is hoped to become their second centre-forward choice alongside Kai Havertz.

Arsenal penny-pinching over £2.12million

The big story of the summer surrounds Gyokeres who has been the club’s target to become the new centre-forward for much of the transfer window. football.london understands a fee inn principle of €63.5million (£55million) guaranteed + €10million (£8.7million) in add-ons has been agreed between clubs.

However, the structure of the fee and the requirements for the activation of the add-ons are what continue to be discussed. Despite that, there were suggestions that Arsenal were just €2.5million (£2.2million) away from a deal sparking fury that the club would penny-pinch over such a small amount.

When in reality this is not the case and that the €10million (£8.7million) and how they’re structured and achieved as a whole is what is taking the focus of talks. As reported here and elsewhere, Arsenal are calm and confident a resolution will be found.

Arsenal want to do more business if it is possible after Gyokeres, and agreeing the deal on the most favourable terms is hoped to give them the freedom to do just that. Yet the longer this goes on, the more the scrutiny persists.

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