Arsenal legend tips Gunners to sign ex-Man Utd man for ‘next season’: ‘I could see that’

Arsenal legend Lee Dixon reckons the Gunners could sign former Man Utd midfielder Angel Gomes in the next summer transfer window.

The Lille midfielder made a strong impression when he made his first senior start for England against Finland under Lee Carsley last month.

He is out of contract this summer and is already reported to be on the wanted list of a number of Premier League clubs, including Newcastle and Man Utd .

Nicky Butt, who was the head of Man Utd’s academy when Gomes signed his first professional contract in 2017, recently gave the 24-year-old a glowing reference.

Butt said: “I think he can do better than some of the teams that will be in for him in the Premier League.

“The Spanish league is written all over for Angel. He could play in the Premier League easily. He could play for City tomorrow.

“When Angel left United (in 2020), I said to him ‘you’re going to go on and have an unbelievable career and I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up playing against Manchester United for Barcelona or Real Madrid in the next five, six, seven years’, because he was that good. And I’m not just saying that now that he’s made his England debut, I genuinely thought that a long time ago.

“He could play in the Premier League easily. He could play for City tomorrow. But then you put him in at Man United at the minute and he’s got to have the legs to go through the centre of midfield where there’s a massive gap, people run through the Man United midfield like you wouldn’t believe. Then it’s a really difficult game for him.”

And Arsenal legend Dixon clearly agrees, insisting that he “could see” the Gunners making a move for the Lille midfielder over the summer.

Dixon told plejmo.com : “I think Angel Gomes would fit in at Arsenal superbly. His qualities are clear to see, he’s a very good link-up player and we’ve seen that he can play alongside Declan Rice.

“He’s got a lot of potential and although there will be plenty of clubs looking at him, I could see him at Arsenal next season.”

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If Gomes joins Arsenal then he will be joining a side now consistently challenging for the Premier League title with Mikel Arteta’s side finishing as runners-up two years in a row.

They are currently third this campaign, one point adrift of leaders Liverpool and on the same points as second-placed Man City, and Dixon reckons Arteta’s time at Arsenal will be deemed a “failure” if they continue to miss out on the top honours.

Dixon added: “If Mikel Arteta leaves Arsenal without winning the Premier League or Champions League at Arsenal you’d have to say it’s been a failure because that’s what he is there to do, to win the biggest trophies.

“He would be the first to say that and of course we don’t know how long he will be in the job, but not winning one of those would be a massive disappointment.

“It’s a tough competition to win of course, but Arsenal’s defence could be the key to winning the Champions League for the first time.

“It’s so tough to win, as Arsenal have proved over the years since they got to the final, they haven’t come anywhere close since.

“It’s tough with all the big teams and you do need a bit of luck, but you have to have a firm base and they have got that with their defence now.

“They’ve got that solidarity to build on and they need to get through the winter months with few injuries, that is the challenge for all the clubs in Europe.”