While their Premier League form remains inconsistent at best, there is an undeniably positive sentiment around Arsenal at the moment.
This is, of course, thanks to the club’s upcoming Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain, which they demolished Real Madrid in the quarter-finals to qualify for.
Mikel Arteta’s men were utterly superb home and away against the Kings of Europe, but if we had to single out one player, it’d have to be Declan Rice, who scored two unreal free-kicks at home and then bossed the midfield at the Bernabeu.
There is no doubt that the Englishman is currently playing the best football he has since his £105m move to the Emirates in 2023, so fans should be excited about recent reports linking Arsenal to a young midfielder who could be the next Rice.
Arsenal looking to sign new midfielder
Plenty of incredible stars are already being linked with moves to Arsenal this summer, so before looking at the player in question, it’s worth looking at a couple of them, such as Florian Wirtz.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
The Bayer Leverkusen gem is one of the most exciting talents in world football and has already racked up a tally of 15 goals and 13 assists in 41 games, but with a reported £111m price tag, we’d be surprised to see the Gunners act on this rumour.
An altogether more affordable target might be Anthony Elanga.
The former Manchester United prospect has been linked with a £43m move to N5 this summer, and considering he’s managed to rack up a haul of 16 goal involvements in 37 appearances for Nottingham Forest this year, that might not be a bad deal.
However, perhaps one of the most intriguing emerging links is to Andrey Santos despite Arsenal’s plans to sign fellow midfielder Martin Zubimendi.
Yes, according to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are now one of several sides who are on ‘alert for a surprise potential transfer raid’ and are ‘interested’ in signing the Chelsea loanee this summer.
The Brazilian midfielder is currently thriving on loan with Strasbourg and, per the report, is not ‘entirely committed to going back to Chelsea next season.’
This means there is now a chance that the Blues could be willing to sell the youngster for a fee of up to €50m, which is about £43m.
It might be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Santos’ ability and potential, it’s one Arsenal should fight for, especially as he could be another Rice in the making.
Why Santos might be the new Rice
Okay, so before getting into some of the other reasons why Arsenal might want to go out and sign Santos this summer, it’s worth going over his similarities to Rice and why he could develop into another version of the Englishman.
So, the first and most obvious point of comparison is that, like the former West Ham United captain, the Chelsea loanee can comfortably play as either a defensive or central midfielder but has found more success this season as the latter, racking up ten goals and five assists in 30 appearances.
On top of this positional versatility and eye for goal, the Rio de Janeiro-born gem is tenacious in the middle of the park, with respected football analyst Ben Mattinson describing him as a “duel monster” who is “brilliant at screening the backline” and possesses real “aerial prowess” – who does that sound like?
Furthermore, like the Gunners’ number 41, Mattinson also praises the Brazilian for how he “progresses the ball,” the fact he frequently “wins 2nd balls”, and, finally, that he “crashes the box” from his deeper position on the pitch, which once again sounds alarmingly similar to the player Arteta has coached Rice into since he arrived in North London.
Finally, away from the glaring similarities to the North Londoners’ own midfield monster, the 20-year-old has some seriously impressive underlying numbers to his name.
Goals per Shot
0.25
Top 1%
Tackles Won
2.25
Top 2%
Non-Penalty Goals
0.32
Top 2%
Goals
0.32
Top 3%
Tackles
3.33
Top 4%
Goals + Assists
0.41
Top 6%
Long Pass Completion
79.2%
Top 6%
Dribblers Tackled
1.46
Top 10%
Ball Recoveries
6.24
Top 12%
For example, FBref places him in the top 1% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for goals per shot, the top 2% for non-penalty goals and tackles won, the top 3% for overall goals, the top 4% for overall tackles, the top 6% for long pass completion, the top 10% for dribblers tackles and more, all per 90.
Ultimately, while it might be a lot of money to spend on someone so young, Santos looks like a genuine superstar in the making, so Arsenal should do what they can to bring him to the Emirates this summer, as he might just develop into another Rice.
Shades of Xhaka: Arsenal star who won 100% duels is now undroppable
The impressive international has turned his Arsenal career around.
ByJack Salveson HolmesApr 24, 2025