Riyad Mahrez’s transfer to Al Ahli from Manchester City has been confirmed and it is a decision sure to impact Arsenal.
Manchester City have confirmed the departure of Riyad Mahrez who has completed a summer transfer to Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli. The 32-year-old spent half a decade playing under Pep Guardiola but has now chosen to move on following Man City’s treble-winning season.
Guardiola has єɴԀured a quiet summer at Etihad Stadium this far with Mateo Kovacic as the only marquee purchase made as a replacement for Ilkay Gundogan who joined Barcelona. Mahrez departing signals another squad overhaul could be coming with Kyle Walker also closing in on a transfer to Bayern Munich and Bernardo Silva linked with an exit.
Arsenal faced competition for Declan Rice with Man City earlier this summer but after pulling out of the race, they swiftly turned their attention to RB Leipzig defєɴԀer Josko Gvardiol.An agreement appeared in place but some complications emerged which placed the transfer on hold with it now entirely possible it collapses.
Mahrez’s exit is sure to impact the Gunners as he frequently contributed to the eight successive defeats the north Londoners have єɴԀured against City in the last three years. In the most recent seven fixtures against Arsenal, Mahrez has provided four goal contributions.
From the sale of the Algeria international, Man City will receive £26million as the up front fee with a further £4million available in add-ons. Guardiola could now look to re-invest that into his playing squad by signing a new attacker.
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Michael Olise is of interest to Manchester City and Chelsea, but neither have launched a bid just yet.The Crystal Palace star is currently out with an ιɴjυɾу which is expected to rule him out of the start of the season and therefore if he does complete a move to Etihad Stadium, he will not play in the Community Shield final.
The two Premier League title rivals from last season will face off at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, August 6 with kick off set for 4pm. In the meantime,Arteta is hopeful of sealing some departures from his squad after spєɴԀing over £200million to acquire Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz.
Following the 5-3 win against Barcelona, he said: “Well, we have 30 players here which is unsustainable. Obviously, the market is still open and things can happen. We are prepared. I’m really happy with the squad we have at the moment.”
