Arsenal set to rival Liverpool to sign Premier League flop in January - Reports

Arsenal are set to rival Liverpool in the race for Manchester City outcast Kalvin Phillips in the January transfer window, according to Fichajes. Phillips has struggled to make a mark at City since sealing a £42 million transfer from Leeds United in 2022.

Prior to his move to the Etihad Stadium, Phillips was regarded as one of the Premier League's best-holding midfielders. However, the 27-year-old England international has been plagued with a series of injuries at City.

He managed just 290 minutes of Premier League action for the Cityzens during the 2022-23 season. This was way below the 1596 league minutes he played in his last season with Leeds United.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that north London giants Arsenal are currently weighing up a January move for Phillips. Head coach Mikel Arteta is keen on adding some steel and aggression to his midfield and considers Phillips as an ideal option. However, they aren't expected to have a free run at the player, as Liverpool are also believed to be interested.

The Reds were dealt a double transfer blow in their attempts to land a proven Premier League holding midfielder during the summer transfer window. Liverpool missed out on the signings of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to league rivals Chelsea.

Klopp's men could possibly revisit their holding midfield department in January, and reports from Fichajes suggest that Phillips is considered an ideal option for the Reds.

The 27-year-old has made three Premier League appearances for City this season, playing a total of 70 league minutes thus far.

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Pundit claims that Arsenal star has had a better start to the season than Jude Bellingham

Saka against Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

Jude Bellingham has had a dream start to life at Real Madrid following his €103 million move from Borussia Dortmund this summer.

Having bagged 10 goals in his first 10 games for Madrid this season, the 20-year-old midfielder is looking like the most in-form player in Europe at the moment.

However, pundit Stan Collymore believes that Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has had a better start to the season than his England teammate Bellingham. He said (via CaughtOffside):

"The reason I’ve chosen Saka is because he’s not allowed nissing the penalty for England, which is only two years ago, to affect him."

He continued:

"Being a particularly young man, a relative rookie, he’s already being thought of as the top man, the game changer at Arsenal and he’s taking that all on board, whilst scoring goals and creating chances. Just brilliant."

Meanwhile, Saka has so far registered a combined total of five goals and five assists for Arsenal across all competitions this season.