Arsenal’s summer transfer window is shaping up to be one of the most consequential in recent memory, with midfield additions firmly on Mikel Arteta’s agenda.
Roma midfielder Manu Kone has emerged as a serious target for the Gunners, with reports from Italy suggesting the 25-year-old wants to join Arsenal and no one else this summer.
Club officials have already held talks with the player’s entourage, and an agreement on personal terms has reportedly already been struck ahead of any formal approach to Roma.
A fee of around £40m is believed to be sufficient to secure the France international’s services from the Italian capital this summer.
Kone is attracting interest from Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayer Leverkusen, but the player is said to be prepared to reject all three if Arsenal formalise their interest.
The midfielder started France’s second World Cup group game against Iraq, underlining both his importance to the national side and the attention his performances continue to attract.
During the 2024/25 season, Kone ranked among the best 7% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carries per 90 minutes and the finest 4% for productive dribbles per 90.
He also won 40% of his defensive ground duels, placing him among the top 6%, making him a particularly physical and imposing presence in the centre of the park.
The news will be less welcome for Myles Lewis-Skelly, who endured a frustrating 2025/26 campaign despite finishing it with genuine momentum, including a start in the Champions League final.
Before appearing against Bournemouth on April 11th, the teenager had started just one Premier League game all season, with Riccardo Calafiori’s improved fitness and Piero Hincapie’s arrival restricting his time at left-back.
Lewis-Skelly netted his first Arsenal goal against Manchester City, scored on his England debut, and produced standout performances against both PSG and Real Madrid in the Champions League the previous season.
It was a shift into midfield, a familiar position from his academy days, that ultimately breathed new life into his 2025/26 campaign after Arteta experimented with him in a central role against Fulham in a 3-0 win.
Arteta was impressed enough to start him in three of Arsenal’s last four league games, suggesting Lewis-Skelly had finally rediscovered a foothold in the first-team picture.
Kone, however, could allow Arteta to select Declan Rice in a more forward-thinking role, with the Frenchman capable of operating across multiple midfield positions with confidence and physicality.
With Martin Zubimendi still in the squad and Mikel Merino expected to return fully fit for 2026/27, the pathway to regular starts for Lewis-Skelly looks increasingly narrow.
Arsenal’s academy, known as Hale End, has consistently produced elite talent in recent years, with Lewis-Skelly following in the footsteps of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe as a homegrown success story.
Max Dowman’s famous goal against Everton, where he ran from inside his own half before finding the net during Arsenal’s title-winning campaign, was another reminder of just how deep that production line runs.
The greater Arsenal’s ambitions grow, the harder it becomes for academy graduates to hold their ground, and Kone’s arrival would only intensify that competition for Lewis-Skelly.