Alphonse Areola’s wife has announced on Instagram that they have purchased a house in London amid suggestions that the goalkeeper could be on his way to Arsenal this summer.
We are not quite at the stage just yet where Lionel Messi is being ‘spotted’ in the Blackburn branch of B&Q, or where obsessive fans are tracking Victor Osimhen’s flight records.
But, with a France international goalkeeper taking up residency in the English capital, it was inevitable that speculation over a potential switch to Arsenal or Chelsea would go into overdrive.
Fuel, meet fire.
Mundo Deportivo reported in May that Arsenal have expressed an interest in Areola, the Paris Saint-Germain glovesman who has spent the 2019/20 season warming the bench at Real Madrid thanks to the record-breaking displays of Zamora winner Thibaut Courtois.
And with PSG seeing the one-time Villarreal star as something of a drain on their resources, due to his hefty £120,000-a-week wages, the Ligue 1 giants certainly wouldn’t stand in Areola’s way if the Gunners came calling.
The same can be said about Chelsea or Newcastle United, who were both linked via Le10 Sport a matter of weeks ago – although a daily commute from London to Tyneside is not for the faint-hearted.
Whether Arsenal is still a realistic destination for Areola, however, is another matter.
Bernd Leno, one of the best reflex shot-stoppers in the Premier League, will be back from injury soon enough.
And, in the German’s absence, Emi Martinez has been nothing short of a revelation – so much so that you’d be forgiven for inspecting his gloves for superglue.
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