Arsenal have sorted their defensive problem. Now they want to fix the attack too.
According to a report from Italian newspaper Tuttosport, Arsenal are preparing an £87 million bid for Juventus and Turkey forward Kenan Yildiz. The 21-year-old has lit up Serie A this past season, and Mikel Arteta has identified him as his top attacking target for the remainder of this transfer window.
Kenan Yildiz Arsenal transfer: what the reports say and why it makes sense
The move comes after Arsenal wrapped up a £51 million deal with Aston Villa for England centre-back Ezri Konsa. The 28-year-old gives Arsenal vital cover at the back, with William Saliba facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines and Jurrien Timber managing a groin issue.
Konsa joins a squad that has already welcomed Christos Tzolis, Bruno Guimaraes, Illan Meslier, and Piero Hincapie this summer. With the sale of Leandro Trossard to Besiktas freeing up funds and squad space up front, Arsenal’s attention has now shifted firmly to attack.
Yildiz is not a straightforward target, though. He wears the iconic number 10 shirt at Juventus, signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until June 2030, and was named Serie A’s Rising Star for the 2025/26 season. Juventus will not sell without a serious fight.
Kenan Yildiz Arsenal transfer: The honest picture
Here is why this deal is genuinely more possible than it first looks.
Yildiz is stuck in a wages dispute with Juventus. He wants between €6 million and €7 million a year. The Italian club won’t go beyond €5 million. That gap has quietly opened a door, and Arsenal have already made informal contact with the player’s camp. Juventus publicly demand upwards of £60 million, but Arsenal’s hierarchy is reportedly willing to use a cash-plus-player structure, with Gabriel Jesus or Gabriel Martinelli potentially included to bring the upfront cost down and keep things on the right side of Premier League financial rules.
From a football standpoint, Yildiz fits what Arteta wants. He scored 11 goals and registered 8 assists in 46 appearances for Juventus across all competitions in 2025/26, with 10 goals and 6 assists coming in Serie A alone. He ranked in the 91st percentile for expected assists in the Italian top flight and averaged 2.41 key passes per 90 minutes. Both-footed and comfortable as a left winger or drifting into central areas, he gives Arsenal the creative unpredictability they lacked alongside Martin Odegaard in tight, compact games last season.
Read: Inter Milan very keen on transfer move for £60m Arsenal winger
The risks are real. Yildiz can disappear from games, recorded a low 9% defensive contribution index in Serie A, and the step up to Premier League pace from Italian football takes time. But at 21, with a ceiling this high and Juventus’s financial position now vulnerable, Arsenal have a genuine case for going all in before the window closes.
