Arsenal’s summer recruitment drive under new head coach Unai Emery looks to have been given a significant boost following the news that Sevilla midfielder Steven N’Zonzi has handed in a transfer request.
The Gunners are said to be interested in a move to bring the former Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City star back to the Premier League, with the France international having risen to another level during Emery’s time at the Spanish club.
According to the Daily Mail, N’Zonzi is once again keen on a fresh challenge away from Sevilla, where he has starred since making the move from Stoke in 2015 and has handed in a transfer request to force the issue.
N’Zonzi, who has made 90 domestic appearances for the La Liga side, is currently on international duty as part of Didier Deschamps’ France set-up in Russia, with his country having reached the quarter final stage where they will meet Uruguay on Friday.
Though the 29-year-old’s international commitments may put any developments in a transfer on hold until the end of France’s involvement in the tournament, that does not seem to have stopped N’Zonzi from taking decisive action regarding his club future.
Though it is said that Sampdoria star Lucas Torreira, who could line up against N’Zonzi for Uruguay on Friday, is set to add to Arsenal’s midfield ranks imminently, Emery is also said to be keen on a reunion with his former Sevilla midfield enforcer at the Emirates.
Arsenal have parted ways with Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Francis Coquelin over the past six months, meaning that midfield reinforcements will inevitably be top of Emery’s agenda as he rebuilds a squad which can compete in the Premier League next term.
N’Zonzi’s apparent will to secure a move away could make the midfielder an ideal candidate to step into the Gunners’ engine room, and the developments on his situation at Sevilla certainly seems to have raised excitement among Arsenal fans, although some are not convinced.