Unai Emery is starting to get his feet under the table at Arsenal, and after it was announced last night that Jack Wilshere would not be part of his plans for the imminent season the new Gunners boss has set his sights on bringing Argentina's World Cup star Ever Banega to the Emirates Stadium.
A key component of Sevilla's midfield last season, Banega was used as a second half substitute in Argentina's 1-1 draw with Iceland last week, but the 29-year-old has become one of the primary targets for Emery, and the pair know each other well having worked together during Banega's first spell at Sevilla between 2014 and 2016.
With Wilshere set to move to pastures new in the next month, the Gunners are in desperate need of a play-making midfielder and Banega has all the attributes of becoming that important cog in the Arsenal engine room, and it's been reported that Banega's representatives are in talks with the north London club to try and manufacture a move after the World Cup in Russia, if not before.
Approaching 30, Banega is certainly a signing Arsene Wenger wouldn't have made, as he was one to nurture, but Emery has shown with the signing of Stephan Lichtsteiner that he is ready to bring in some much needed experience into the Arsenal dressing room, and in Banega he will have a player that knows what it takes to perform on the big stage having played for Boca Juniors, Valencia and Inter Milan in his career, and he showed last season at Sevilla that he is a world class player, and a move to Arsenal could see him enhance his reputation.
It is reported that Banega has a release cause of around £20m in his Sevilla contract, and it's a move that will certainly appeal to the Argentinean star, as not only will he get to grace the Premier League for the first time in his career, but he will able to kick off a new relationship with Emery, who he blossomed under a couple of years ago.
