There have been a few links today saying that Arsenal is a possible destination for the Man City defender Joao Cancelo, and I think he could be a great fit for the Gunners.
Arteta coached Cancelo during his time at City and is reportedly interested in signing him as a player who could fit into his tactical system, especially with Kieran Tierney linked with a summer exit and Takehiro Tomiyasu having struggled with injuries in the last 18 months, and in fact the latest forecasts are saying that Tomi could even miss the beginning of next season.
However, it remains to be seen if Pep Guardiola would be willing to sell another player to a title rival like Arsenal.
Cancelo was sent on loan to Bayern Munich for the second half of the 2022/23 season after apparently falling out with Guardiola, but he initially struggled to find a place under Julian Nagelsmann but has since become more of a regular under Thomas Tuchel.
Bayern have the option to buy Cancelo for €70m once his loan expires this summer, but they have indicated that this price is too high and is a similar figure that City paid for him many years ago.
City may prefer to sell Cancelo to one of the European clubs keeping an eye on his situation, but they may need to reduce their asking price of £62m in order to do so. Cancelo still has four years left on his contract at City, but Guardiola has a history of selling players he doesn’t see as part of his long-term plans.
Since joining City from Juventus five years ago, Cancelo has made 154 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals and registering 22 assists. City fans booed Cancelo when he came on as a substitute during Bayern’s Champions League quarter-final defeat in April, so I can’t see him returning to the Etihad again.
In my eyes, he is very similar tactically speaking to Zinchenko with his ability to switch from defence to midfield, and as he can play on both flanks, he is an ideal man to have as versatile cover anywhere at the back for Arteta.
