Arsenal Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Lucas Perez and Kieran Gibbs

Arsenal have reportedly received offers from seven different clubs for striker Lucas Perez, with Premier League duo Everton and Newcastle United among those mentioned as interested in the Spanish attacker.Perez is expected to leave the Gunners before the end of this summer's transfer window as part of a necessary squad clear out led by manager Arsene Wenger. So is left-back Kieran Gibbs, who has emerged as a target for Galatasaray.The Turkish giants are also part of the clutch of clubs credited with interest in Perez, according to Mark Mann-Bryans of PA Sport:Perez has barely featured for Arsenal after arriving from Deportivo La Coruna last summer. He made just 11 appearances, including a mere two starts in the Premier League last season, per WhoScored.com.Despite some moments of quality, the 28-year-old failed to convince Wenger of his worth. The Arsenal boss appears content to move on from the forward, despite his pace and ability to play anywhere across the forward line.Even so, Wenger and the Gunners want to fetch a decent fee for Perez, something of a sticking point in negotiations with the player's former club, per Mann-Bryans:Depor still remains favourites to sign Perez, though. In fact, manager Felipe Mel recently revealed how club president Tino Fernandez is confident of making the deal happen, per James Benge of the London Evening Standard: "Tino Fernandez has told me that Lucas Perez will be here next week, and he is very stubborn. I have no choice but to believe him."Arsenal are well stocked enough in theforward areas to sanction the sale of Perez, despite drawing a blank in their last league match, a 1-0 defeat to Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday.Yet Wenger can still call on Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and classy target man Olivier Giroud. Summer signing Alexandre Lacazette has already impressed, while Wenger said star man Alexis Sanchez could return from injury this week, per Mark Critchley of The Independent.The Gunners have enough firepower to justify letting Perez go if the right offer is made.There is also room to let Gibbs go after Wenger signed wing-back Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer this summer. Kolasinac has joined Nacho Monreal to give Arsenal ample defensive cover on the left.Shifting Gibbs won't be easy, even though he's free to leave, with Galatasaray showing interest, according to Paul Hirst of The Times: "Galatasaray are hoping they can persuade Arsenal to sell the full-back to them in a cut-price deal worth around 4 million."Hirst noted how the Gunners want around 10 million for the 27-year-old defender. Significantly, Hirst also pointed out how a move to Watford collapsed because Gibbs wouldn't lower his 80,000-per-week wages.Such an issue is the biggest challenge facing Wenger as he attempts to streamline his squad this summer. The Frenchman has already declared Arsenal must sell before buying, per Stephen Turner of Sky Sports: "It's not manageable and many clubs are in this situationthat's why the transfer market is quiet. We have 33 players at the moment and that's too many."It's a tricky situation since the Gunners still look short of the quality they will need to realistically challenge for this season's title. Yet much will depend on whether fringe players such as Gibbs are determined to play regularly to lower their demands and help Wenger free up the space he needs to add fresh talent.
Click here to read full news..