The Gunners lodged an official bid to sign Leeds talisman Raphinha earlier this window. Their tactic of bidding low before gradually working their way up to a compromise with the Whites looked to have backfired when Chelsea swooped in.
The Blues had a bid worth over £55m accepted, though the Brazilian only had eyes for Barcelona.
The Spanish side ultimately conjured up a deal Leeds deemed acceptable and the saga finally concluded on Friday.
That left both Arsenal and Chelsea without the left-footed right winger they craved. Though according to CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs, Leroy Sane could now become the subject of their plans.
The Bayern Munich and Germany winger, 26, can reportedly be signed for around £59m this summer, according to Bild.
Bayern have already signed Sadio Mane from Liverpool, while Serge Gnabry recently penned fresh terms. Sane’s place no longer looks as assured as it once was.
When speaking on the Done Deal Show, Jacobs detailed the state of play regarding both Arsenal and Chelsea’s interest in Sane.
He also acknowledged Real Madrid could be a contender, and hinted Spain may be Sane’s likeliest destination if he does leave Bavaria.
Leroy Sane on the move?
Jacobs said: “Yeah I mean Sane to Chelsea is a kind of link that has been developed after Chelsea realised they wouldn’t get Gnabry and the Gnabry thing was a bit of a non-starter because he was always going to sign a new deal.
“The Sane thing is something to watch in the coming weeks. It’s not a link that I have yet put to sources and contracts other than a month ago.
“The intonation was that Real Madrid might come in for Sane. I think that they would consider it if another club made a move.
“A move to La Liga could be more likely. I’ve not heard rumblings at the Chelsea end.
“I’ve actually heard more rumblings from Arsenal that this was a name being considered at the beginning of the window, but then they turned their attentions to Raphinha.”
Arsenal connections could help
Arsenal and Chelsea’s hopes of landing Raphinha are now a thing of the past. Sane would represent a more than adequate alternative, and Bild (as cited by the Sun) reported Arsenal are indeed ‘interested in signing’ Sane.
Sane is well known to Mikel Arteta through the Spaniard’s time as Pep Guardiola’s No 2 at the Etihad. What’s more, he waxed lyrical about the current Gunners boss when speaking to the Independent in July, 2020.
“I can just say positive things about Mikel Arteta,” said Sane (via the Express). “Since we started working together, he helped me a lot on the pitch.
“He tried to improve my football; he told me what I did good and what I did wrong, and he tried to work on it. Next to Pep, they both really helped me and improved me, to bring me to the next level.
“Even now, at Arsenal, for me you can see he’s doing a great job. You can see he has a concept, a way that he wants to play, a way that he wants his team to play, and obviously it will take some time until everybody really understands it.
“I think he will do a great job as a [head] coach too.”
