"I think Arsenal are very confident" - Ben Jacobs says Gunners are capable of striking deal for £30 million rated Premier League star

Journalist Ben Jacobs believes that Arsenal are very much capable of signing Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans this summer. The Belgium international has been linked with a move away from the King Power Stadium all summer long.

The Gunners have been in the market to sign a central midfielder this summer. They have already signed Fabio Vieira from FC Porto for a fee of around £34 million. However, Mikel Arteta's side could do with another new face in midfield to bolster their squad ahead of the long season which sees them return to the Europa League.

Jacobs stated that the Gunners are extremely confident of securing the services of Tielemans if they strive to get a deal sorted with Leicester. However, Arteta is currently sitting on the fence regarding the transfer.

Speaking to Give Me Sport (via Football 365), Jacobs was quoted as saying the following:

“If they don’t sign him, it’s not because Tielemans doesn’t want to join. It’s not because the deal can’t be agreed with Leicester, I think Arsenal are very confident if they do come to the table and finally make a bid that they will be able to strike a deal with Leicester. It’s down to Arteta’s desire, and at the moment, he doesn’t want to move.”

It is worth mentioning that Arsenal have already spent big in the summer transfer window, having signed five players so far. The Gunners have forked out around £120 million to sign Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus, Matt Turner and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Tielemans has been one of Leicester's best midfielders in recent times. The Belgian midfielder made 50 appearances across all competitions for the Foxes last season and contributed seven goals and five assists along the way.

However, the 25-year-old midfielder currently has just one year remaining on his current contract with Leicester. Due to his contract situation, Tielemans could be available for only £30 million this summer. Manchester United too are said to be closely monitoring his transfer situation.

The Belgian will always go down in Leicester City folklore for scoring the winning goal in the 2021 FA Cup final against Chelsea.

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Arsenal take on Sevilla in their final pre-season game

Arsenal face La Liga side Sevilla in their final pre-season game ahead of the 2022-23 season. The game has been branded as the Emirates Cup and will be played in front of the Gunners' supporters at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners have had an unblemished pre-season campaign so far, winning all six of their fixtures. It also includes a 4-0 thrashing of London rivals Chelsea in Orlando on July 23.

Arsenal will kickstart the 2022-23 Premier League season when they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace on Friday, August 5, 2022.