Arsenal have been told they could do far worse than signing Jadon Sancho this summer with one former Gunner absolutely dazzled by his form at Borussia Dortmund – though links to a second Manchester United star have been given a wide berth.
The 24-year-old winger suffered a high-profile falling out with Erik ten Hag earlier this season after accusing Erik ten Hag of not being entirely truthful over his decision to exclude him from the Red Devils’ matchday squad for a game at Arsenal back in September. As a result of that fall-out, Sancho was excluded from first-team facilities at the club’s training base and with no thawing of tensions coming, it came as no surprise when he was very quickly moved on quickly after the January transfer window opened for business.
However, just a matter of months after making the return to his previous club Borussia Dortmund, Sancho is a Champions League finalist for the first time in his career, having played a starring role in their progress so far and even finding himself linked with lucrative moves to Real Madrid as a result.
Sancho’s stand-out performance came in their semi-final first leg win over PSG when the 23-times capped England winger produced a thoroughly-dazzling display that saw him complete 12 dribbles in the match – the first time a player has reached double figures in that category since a certain Lionel Messi against Manchester United back in the 2010/11 season.
Marvelling over that performance, Rio Ferdinand stated: “He’s shaking and baking top players here. He’s putting people on the floor, he’s making people dance.“It was a joke what he did today and we haven’t seen this, probably since he was at Dortmund before.
”Arsenal told they are ideal club for Jadon SanchoFerdinand continued: “He isn’t just a dribbler, he isn’t just somebody who runs and runs past people with pace. He’s a footballer who wants to come in and play one-twos, be part of the game and the tempo of that game.
“What I saw today more than anything, which I haven’t seen and have been waiting to see, and all Manchester United fans have been waiting to see, I saw cage-football Sancho today.
“This is the kid that grew up in cages, with that arrogance and that little bit of swagger. I’ve been sitting here saying that it’s there but we haven’t seen it.
”However, despite claims that Manchester United could yet see a future for Sancho at Old Trafford next season, especially if Ten Hag departs as manager, there is a growing belief that the club will be forced to cut their losses with the 24-year-old adamant he won’t return to the north-west.
And while a permanent move to Dortmund looks difficult to finance for the Bundesliga side, despite the player’s happiness at the Westfalenstadion, speculation has started to rise over where the player will find himself next season.
To that end, the likes of Juventus, Bayern Munich and even Real Madrid have all been touted as would-be destinations.
However, former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has urged the Gunners to move for him this summer, feeling Mikel Arteta could get the best out of the player.
“I was saying how impressed I was with Jadon Sancho in the Champions League on commentary – he looks like a new player, so fit, thin and explosive,” Petit told Grosvenor Sport.
He’s like dynamite on the pitch, so explosive on the ball with [Karim] Adeyemi on the left flank – so hard to catch.
”Arsenal urged to steer clear of Bruno Fernandes move Petit continued: “He’s back to his best and Man Utd look so far away from them, so if Arsenal want him, why not? You can put the best player in the world at Man Utd at the moment and they’d look average in two months!”United reportedly want a £40m fee for any side wanting to sign Sancho this summer.
The Gunners have also been speculatively linked with a move for Bruno Fernandes this summer amid claims he will consider his future at Old Trafford this summer once the European Championships are done and dusted. The United skipper was one of the players not available to Ten Hag against Arsenal on Sunday through injury.
However, while the likes of Barcelona have been linked – potentially in a swap deal for Frenkie de Jong – Arsenal are also touted as a potential destination for the player.
Despite that, Petit does not think the Gunners should make a move for Fernandes, claiming the £60m-rated Portuguese star would struggle to get into the side ahead of captain Martin Odegaard.
Should Arsenal sign Fernandes as back-up to Odegaard? To be honest, Odegaard is a better player than him and I’m not that convinced with Fernandes,” Petit added.
“He’s the captain and one of their better players, but I’m not sure Arsenal need him. Odegaard also has a better mentality and isn’t always upset, throwing his arms up in the air to his teammates.
“When you’re captain, you have to be a leader in difficult times and show why you’re the captain. The behaviour of Arsenal players and their commitment to the cause, I’m not sure Fernandes has the same standards.
