"In recent days" – Arsenal hold "fresh talks" to sign once-£137m forward

Arsenal have held talks to sign a once-marquee forward “in recent days”, and he was likely impressed by Mikel Arteta’s side last night as they hammered Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3-0 in hugely important Champions League win

Arsenal wowed on-lookers with a stunning victory over the European champions on Tuesday evening, courtesy of two sublime free-kicks from club-record signing Declan Rice and a brilliant Mikel Merino finish.

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The Gunners could go head-to-head with Carlo Ancelotti’s side off the field as well.

Eduardo Camavinga was also sent off in the dying minutes of the game and the France international is set to miss their return leg in Spain as a result, compounding Real’s misery in what was a real night to forget for the La Liga heavyweights.

It was a statement performance by the Gunners, who put Real to the sword and placed one foot in the Champions League semi-final draw, but history shows they cannot take the second leg at the Bernabeu lightly, as Carlo Ancelotti’s men have sparked unlikely comebacks in previous seasons.

“I’m very proud, we had a very complete and big performance collectively, and you need that in the organisation and what we had to do to dominate the game and to create Madrid problems,” said Arteta after Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Real.

“This night is about all two factors, one is the atmosphere that we created 15 minutes before kick-off is something I haven’t seen before, so playing with that energy, with that commitment, with your crowd makes a huge difference. And then magic moments, individual moments that decide all matches and the first two goals of Declan sums up the night.”

Following last night’s display, Arsenal’s odds of winning the tournament have increased dramatically, and supporters will be hopeful they can put Real to bed and go on to make history by winning their first-ever Champions League title.

An impressive run in Europe would also do wonders to attract key summer transfer targets, with new sporting director Andrea Berta already working on potential Arsenal signings for next season.

Arsenal hold “fresh” Leroy Sane talks “in recent days”

As things stand, the north Londoners still have a chance of signing former Man City forward and Bayern Munich star Leroy Sane on a Bosman deal.

The Germany international, who once commanded a £137 million price tag when he was at Eastlands, could leave for nothing if his contract is allowed to expire on June 30th, but Bayern remain at work to tie him down.

That is according to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, who also says Arsenal have held “fresh talks” with Sane “in recent days”.

The 29-year-old has 11 goals and five assists to his name in all competitions this season, adding to his overall total of 59 strikes and 54 assists since joining the Bavarians, and he’s a proven big-game player.

There is little denying Sane would be an excellent alternative to Bukayo Saka on the right-hand side, but much will hinder on Bayern’s attempts to wrap up a new deal.