According to a report from Italian publication Il Resto del Carlino, Arsenal is one of a number of teams interested in acquiring Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg this summer.
The Swedish club Bunkeflo was where Svanberg started his junior career before transferring to the academy of Malmo in January 2013. In his time with the club, the midfielder progressed through the ranks and made more than 40 first-team appearances before joining Bologna in the summer of 2018. Svanberg has established himself as a staple in the center of the park ever since joining the Italian club.
A glimpse at the heroics of Mattias Svanberg
At this point in his career, Svanberg has made 99 appearances for Bologna, scoring eight goals and setting up another six. The 22-year-old had a productive season last year and has continued his good form into the current campaign, scoring twice and assisting once in 12 Serie A games so far this season.
In his 13-year international career, Svanberg has played in a variety of midfield positions for the Swedish national team. His contract with the Italian club runs out in 2023, thus the former Malmo forward will be approaching the last twelve months of his deal in the summer of this year, sparking the curiosity of a number of teams around Europe, including Arsenal.
The addition of Albert Sambi Lokonga, who has made a strong impact thus far at the Emirates, helped the Gunners bolster their midfield unit throughout the summer transfer window. Mohamed Elneny, on the other hand, is anticipated to be on his way out shortly. Furthermore, the recurrent injury problems of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka may drive the north London club to make a summer transfer investment in a new midfielder to replace them.
Accordingly, Arsenal has been connected with a move for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Denis Zakaria, while RB Leipzig’s Tyler Adams, a versatile midfield enforcer, has also been linked with a transfer to Arsenal. Svanberg has now appeared on the radars of the club of north London as a potential target for the next season.
Although the article states that Arsenal is interested in acquiring the 22-year-old, it also states that other teams like Napoli, AC Milan, and Inter Milan are also interested in signing him. In addition, it is said that Bologna may be successful in extending the midfielder’s contract for at least another twelve months, so preserving his worth to the club.
Arsenal hired Japanese midfielder Takehiro Tomiyasu in the summer of 2016, and the deal has proven to be a successful one for the club. It would be intriguing to watch whether they opt to attack the Serie A club in successive summer transfer windows.
