Arsenal are now reportedly favorites to sign West Ham winger Dimitri Payet according to reports in the Daily Express.
Well known English bookmakers SkyBet claim that the Gunners are priced at 6/1 ahead of Manchester United (7/1) and Marseille (10/1) to sign Payet before February 3 next year.
The Frenchman has reportedly stated in public that he wasn’t sure about staying at West Ham after January as they look to avoid relegation this summer.
About a month ago after their 1-5 away defeat to Arsenal, the Hammers were lying just above the relegation zone in 17th place with 12 points from 14 games.
But since then the East London club have managed to rack up 10 points from 4 games including 2 clean sheets and a 2-2 away draw against Premier League title contenders Liverpool.
Hence West Ham’s 48-year old Croatian boss Slaven Bilic expects that Payet will remain at the London Stadium at least until the summer transfer window according to ESPN FC.
Payet has signed a money-spinning new deal worth up to £35 million in February. He signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract worth up to £125,000-per-week.
However, the French international winger had earlier claimed that it could be “fun” to play for Arsenal this month. The 29-year-old recently talked up about the idea of joining the gunners during an interview with French source RMC (according to Sky Sports)
I read that Wenger considers me the missing piece of the Arsenal’s game, but he’s never told me that!
We conceded five or six at home against them. When you see them playing, as a technical player, you could only have fun on that team. They’re candidates for the title every year.
He even made clear his desire to play in the UEFA Champions League, a competition the Gunners haven’t missed in the last 19 seasons, and during the same interview, he said:
“I miss the Champions League… I’ve got some great years ahead of me and I want to enjoy them by playing in important competitions.”
The France international was absolutely sensational for the Hammers last season, bagging 15 goals and 17 assists in all competitions. Payet even had an amazing time with his national team during the 2016 Euros at home where he was France’s 2nd best player behind Antoine Griezmann with 3 goals & 2 assists and has continued to impress in the ongoing 2018 Russia World cup qualifiers.
Overall he has excelled during the 18 months he has spent in the Premier League with the East Londoners. But he has been a little downcast so far this term.
Left wing is a position Arsenal could do with an upgrade, as the team’s first choice left-winger Alexis Sanchez has been enjoying life playing as a striker with 14 goals & 12 assists in all competitions this season so far.
Meanwhile, Alex Iwobi is a talented youngster but is still evolving, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is more suited on the right. Payet’s set piece delivery will also give Arsenal a new dimension as they have struggled to find the perfect man for the job.
The Gunners are reportedly keen to make a move for the attacker, who is said to be low-spirited with life at West Ham. Wenger loves attackers who are technically strong, can create goals out of nowhere and have the ability to add an extra flair to the team’s game.
That is why Wenger is so fond of Mesut Ozil and hence no wonder Payet sounds very interested in playing for Arsenal. Let us just wait and watch as to how this piece of transfer rumor unfolds.
