Crystal Palace attacker Wilfried Zaha reportedly wants to stay in London amid rumours that Arsenal are interested in signing the Ivory Coast international, with Chelsea also in the mix.
According to the Daily Star, the £130,000-a-week Premier League star is set to leave Selhurst Park at the end of this season upon the expiration of his contract, with Zaha keen to stay in the English capital amid growing interest from the likes of Arsenal and Graham Potter’s Chelsea.
Zaha has been linked with a move to Arsenal for many years, with former Gunners boss Unai Emery almost going all-out to sign the forward in 2019 before opting to bring in Nicolas Pepe, a move that remains the north London side’s record transfer and arguably their biggest flop in the market.
Four years on from the transfer, and Arsenal are seemingly interested again in signing Zaha, with the versatile attacker set to leave Palace for free after spending the majority of his career with the Eagles, and Arsenal seem to be the early favourites for the 30-year-old’s signature.
Despite Arsenal signing Leandro Trossard in January and Folarin Balogun returning to the club in the summer after a record-breaking year in France, Zaha seems to always be linked with a move to the Gunners. Yet just like in 2019, the north London side should stay well away from the Palace superstar.
Indeed, whilst the forward has hit double figures in the last two Premier League seasons with Zaha currently on six for Patrick Vieira’s side, Arsenal know they can do better in the market than the former Manchester United attacker, with Mikel Arteta also aware that the striker doesn’t fit his transfer policy in the slightest.
Arsenal should avoid signing Zaha this summer
Zaha is more than ready to play for a higher-calibre club than Palace, yet whilst Arsenal might be a dream move for the attacker, the Emirates Stadium side should avoid signing the forward given how little attacker would actually benefit the squad.
As we know, Arsenal have a good wealth of attacking options in the squad in both the striker position and the wide-forward role, and although Zaha could perform for the Gunners, the Palace star’s age and wage demands would make him a poor fit in the long-term for Arteta.
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