Arsenal ‘set to join north London rivals Tottenham in race for RB Leipzig’s Marcel Sabitzer’ as Mikel Arteta looks to swoop in and sign £45m Austrian midfielder ahead of Jose Mourinho
- RB Leipzig captain Marcel Sabitzer has attracted attention from north London
- The midfielder has been a star for RB Leipzig in the Champions League this year
- Spurs have a long term interested but Gunners also ‘very keen’ on 26-year-old
- However, Leipzig are unlikely to allow him to leave during the January window
Arsenal have reportedly entered the race to land Marcel Sabitzer from RB Leipzig as they hope to beat bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the midfielder’s signature.
Sabitzer has been tracked for a few months by Spurs but his star showings as captain of the German side in the Champions League, including at home against Manchester United, have now attracted the attention of many clubs.
European journalist Julien Laurens believes Arsenal are one of those sides and told ESPN’s ‘The Gab & Juls Show’ that they are ‘very keen’ on the £45million rated star.
Arsenal are ready to enter the race for RB Leipzig’s £45million rated captain Marcel Sabitzer
Arsenal’s poor record in front of goal this term, only Burnley and Wolves have scored fewer than their 16 goals outside the relegation zone, means they are desperate for a creative spark.
Sabitzer is thought to provide that from midfield but he also has goals to his game and was on target to help knock Tottenham out of the Champions League last-16 earlier in the year.
Although the Austria international is keen on a move to north London, it is unlikely Leipzig will allow the 26-year-old to depart in January.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta (left) is prepared to go head to head with Tottenham counterpart Jose Mourinho for the midfielder’s signature
However, his contract expires in 18 months time meaning he could be available for a slightly reduced fee in the summer.
Leipzig though have not given up hope of keeping their star midfielder and sporting director Markus Krosch will hope to open talks with Sabitzer in the spring.
He told Bild : ‘We wanted to end the year first, both sides will deal more intensively with the topic in the spring.
Sabitzer provided a key assist as RB Leipzig dumped Manchester United out of the Champions League group stage earlier this season (above)
He was also on target to eliminate Spurs from the last-16 of the competition before lockdown
Asked about outside interest from other clubs he added: ‘As I said, he has made a great development. It goes without saying that other clubs also notice this.’
Sabitzer has been at Leipzig since 2014 and in that time has gone to make 204 appearances in all competitions, scoring 46 goals and providing 38 assists.
He is versatile across the midfield, even in a deeper role, and can also play on either flank in an attack.
This term he has three goals and three assists from his 16 games across all competitions.
