Arsenal are planning a late move to the Premier League

Arsenal brought the curtain down on their pre-season preparations on Sunday evening knowing they are well and truly fit to challenge for the Premier League title again.

Results may have been mixed when they toured the USA but they have returned home, dispatching unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen before facing Lyon this weekend.

It was not pleasant to return to the Emirates Stadium for Granit Xhaka a few days ago as he was beaten 4-1, goals from Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.

Perhaps it was interesting that Trossard played almost the full 90 minutes during the week. The Belgian failed to shine at Euro 2024 but was Mikel Arteta's first choice on the left side at the end of last quarter.

Scorer of 17 goals in 2023/24, he was a brilliant player and Arsenal could repeat their Trossard strategy this summer.

Arsenal want to sign Brighton forward

The Gunners have done a lot of business with the Seagulls in recent years. They signed Ben White for £50m back in 2021 and have since welcomed the aforementioned Trossard, who signed in the 2023 winter window.

That said, relations soured a bit when Moises Caicedo tried to force his way out of Amex during the same exchange window. Caicedo submitted a transfer request but when Arsenal did not want to cough up the necessary money, he remained a Brighton player, at least until the summer.

Now, what is the relationship between these two clubs? Can they do business again? However, it may be necessary.

Arsenal pundits, Teamnewsandtix, reported this weekend that the north Londoners are one of the clubs who could be interested in signing Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra.

It is said that they are monitoring his condition before the transfer window closes. Transfermarkt currently value the player at £26m but we all know that Brighton only sell for a premium price.

Why Adingra would be a good signing

In the winter of 2023, Arsenal were trying their best to prize Mykhailo Mudryk away from Shakhtar Donetsk. This player was talking a lot about his love for this team on social media but he ended up joining Chelsea, a team that was determined to cough up a lot of money. Now there is a surprise.

As a result, Edu decided to lure Trossard to the Emirates and how much he signed.

Certainly not the club's first choice, he was in electric form after signing for the club, registering ten assists in his first 20 league games. Last season he went from being a goalscorer to ending the campaign as Arsenal's second player. His scoring of 17 goals was beaten by only Bukayo Saka who scored 20 goals.

So, signing Brighton players is probably a good idea, right? Their scouting network is particularly impressive in turning the Trossards and Addras of this world into consistent Premier League players.

However, what exactly could he bring to the Gunners? First and foremost, Adingra would add depth to a position Arsenal currently lack.

Able to play either side, the 22-year-old will be able to play second fiddle not only to Trossard on the left but more so to Saka on the right.

The England international is the poster boy for this football club but he is playing too many minutes and the 2023/24 campaign caught up with him towards the end of last season, he ended up missing the last game due to injury.

As a result, signing someone like Adingra would be a good idea. As Arsenal podcaster Adam Keys put it, the AFCON winger wouldn't be a “marquee signing” but he has plenty of qualities that would make him an exciting acquisition, most notably his “lightning pace”.

In the Premier League last season, the Brighton star ranked in 13% of the same players for the most continuous passes received. In short, he is always a pass option. Also ranked in the top 15% of players in the penalty area, it is clear that this is a player who likes to attack his man, like Saka. This is not a player without his goals, however. He scored 15 goals on loan from Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise in the 2022/23 season.

On the evidence above, Adingra is certainly not a world-beater yet but he has an impressive set of tools. He can beat a player, he is willing to get into the penalty area and something that Arteta will no doubt like, he is also defensive.

Arsenal have been linked with top wingers this summer, most notably Nico Williams, but in a market where attacking players will cost a fortune, Adingra could be the club's most cost-effective option.