‘Exceptional’: CEO bids farewell to reported Arsenal and Tottenham target; leaving on a free

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AC Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis has admitted that Gianluigi Donnarumma is leaving the Serie A giants with Premier League rivals Tottenham and Arsenal interested, while speaking to Corriere dello Sport. 

Given that Gazidis is far from Mr Popular at the Emirates – many in North London blame him for botching the post-Arsene Wenger succession plan – Arsenal fans will be licking their lips at the prospect of luring one of his star players away from the San Siro .

Schadenfreude, indeed.

Tuttosport claimed on Monday morning that Donnarumma is a target not only for Arsenal but also Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea and a Spurs side scouring the market for a Hugo Lloris replacement.

Will Gianluigi Donnarumma be Arsenal’s new goalkeeper?

Barring a dramatic late twist, Donnarumma will leave his boyhood club on a free transfer in a matter of weeks after Milan failed to meet his £120,000-a-week wage demands.

So could Gazidis’s loss be Arsenal’s gain? 

“I don’t want to reveal the details, nor the timing, and I don’t know the boundaries of the relationship between Gigio and (agent Mino) Raiola,” Gazidis said of a man who established himself as Milan’s number one since the age of just 16.

“In the end, of course, the decision is always the player’s.

“What I can say is that Gigio was an exceptional professional, every single day, and in the last match against Atalanta there was no one happier than him for qualifying for the Champions League.

“I have absolute esteem for him, as well as respect his choices. No negativity. He did what he thought was best for him, and there are a few reasons on his side, but I don’t say which ones.”

At the age of just 22, Donnarumma has already made a remarkable 251 appearances at club level and is expected to start between the sticks as Italy face off against Turkey in Friday’s Euro 2020 opener.

Milan, meanwhile, have already signed Lille’s Ligue 1 champion Mike Maignan as a replacement for a man Zlatan Ibrahimovic labelled ‘the strongest (goalkeeper) in the world’.