According to reports, Arsenal have become the ‘favourites’ to sign Bayern Munich star Leon Goretzka, though they will have a ‘summer fire sale’.

Over recent transfer windows, Arsenalhave built the best squad in the Premier League and arguably Europe to set up a challenge for multiple trophies this season.

Last summer, the Gunners invested around ￡250m on signings to secure most of their priority transfer targets, and this business has moved them to second in the five-year Premier League net spend table.

Therefore, it is inevitable that they will offload several valuable assets to balance the books this summer, with reports suggesting they will otherwise have a limited budget for signings.?

Arsenal will still make a signing or two and recent reports have suggested that they could strengthen in midfield, with Bayern Munich star Goretzka mooted as a low-cost option.

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The experienced midfielder is in the final few months of his contract at Bayern Munich, but it has emerged that he will leave on a free transfer this summer.

Naturally, Goretzka has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, but there is also interest from elsewhere.

A report from Italian outlet Calciomercatoclaims AC Milan are ‘pushing hard’ for Goretzka, but they are trailing behind Arsenal after a ‘super request’.

The report adds: ‘Goretzka appreciates AC Milan and Serie A, and the meeting between Tare and Roof’s agency in mid-January led to a significant deal. It’s not yet final, as the player’s preference is for the Premier League and Arsenal.

‘The biggest difficulty, however, right now lies in the financial demands: a three-year contract worth €7 million plus substantial bonuses and a signing-on fee of €10 million. These are significant figures, in line with what the Bochum native earned in recent seasons at Bayern Munich.’

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Regarding exits, a report from Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke claims the Gunners have chosen Ben White, bought for ￡50m, and Gabriel Jesus, bought for ￡45m, to be offloaded ‘as part of a summer fire sale’.

Arsenal are also ‘unlikely to stop at those two’, but another report fromFootball Insiderclaims they have ‘decided on the sale’ of Riccardo Calafiori and want to keep him.

Calafiori, who joined the club for ￡42m, is currently competing with Piero Hincapie to be Arsenal’s No.1 left-back and has attracted interest from Serie A giants Inter Milan, but his current club are ‘not willing to entertain offers’.

The report claims: ‘The Italian giants have identified the 23-year-old as a candidate to come in and strengthen their squad ahead of next season, but the Gunners view him as being too important to let go.

‘The feeling behind the scenes at the Emirates Stadium is that the left-back has a huge future ahead of him, and sources say that he is expected to be “one of the first names on the team sheet” for Mikel Arteta once again next term.’

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