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Why Arsenal are confident of signing Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace despite £80m valuation


Arsenal are confident of signing Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal are confident of signing Wilfried Zaha this summer despite Crystal Palace’s £80million valuation, according to reports.

Ivory Coast international Zaha has rocked the Eagles by reportedly pleading with the club to reach a transfer agreement with London rivals Arsenal, who he supported growing up.

The 26-year-old returned to Palace in 2015 following an unsuccessful spell at Manchester United and enjoyed another impressive season for the south London club, scoring ten goals and providing five assists in the Premier League.

Zaha has previously admitted he may have to move on to realise his ambitions and has now decided he wants to join the Gunners, who finished fifth in the Premier League last season.

Arsenal are now preparing an official offer for Zaha, who Palace have insisted is not for sale unless an offer of around £80m is presented.

That could prove to be a stumbling block for Arsenal, who only have around £45m to spend this summer, but the Gunners remain confident of striking a deal, according to the Daily Mirror.

It is claimed the north London club are buoyed by Zaha’s desire to wear an Arsenal shirt, and believe Palace will be forced to accept a substantially lower fee when push comes to shove.

Arsenal may also have more than £45m to spend during this summer transfer window if they are able to offload several players.

Unai Emery will bolster his squad at the Emirates this summer (Picture: Getty)

First-team stars Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lucas Torreira have all been linked with summer moves, while Arsenal are also believed to be open to selling Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Calum Chambers.

Arsenal legend Charlie Nicholas, meanwhile, has urged Gunners boss Emery to sign two centre-backs ‘immediately’.

Asked what Arsenal require during the summer transfer window, Nicholas said: ‘Immediately two centre-backs. They need a bit of pace, they’ve never really had the pace at the back.’

Arsenal kick-start the 2019-20 Premier League campaign with a trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United.





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