Arsenal news: Concrete talks over the next Calafiori as Arteta could be left red-faced

Arsenal’s achievements this season epitomise just how important it is to nail the summer transfer window. The Gunners spent a club record sum of over £250million last year to give themselves the best chance of competing across all four fronts ahead of the current campaign - something they have certainly managed to do. Mikel Arteta was confident enough not to demand any signings in January and it is still unclear whether that was a mistake or not. One positive, however, is that it hands the north London side the ability to spend more freely come the end of this season. Arsenal ’s sporting director Andrea Berta will still need to sell players in order to fund any expenditure. But reports of the Italian already starting to conduct his business suggest he is confident he will be able to do so. FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news and more on our dedicated Facebook page Here, Mirror Football looks at the latest transfer talk surrounding the Premier League leaders. Arsenal face strong competition from Eintracht Frankfurt in their pursuit of Real Madrid starlet Victor Valdepenas. The highly-rated 19-year-old possesses similar traits to Gunners star Riccardo Calafiori, given his high technical skill for a defender and his ability to play at both centre-back and left-back. His rare profile has unsurprisingly made him a target for Berta and Arteta. However, Sky Sport Germany claim Frankfurt have now edged ahead in the race to sign the Los Blancos academy product by holding concrete talks with Valdepenas’ camp. The 6ft 2in teenager’s contract runs for another three years but it is claimed he has a £43million release clause in his deal. Valdepenas has made one first team appearance this season. He was reportedly shortlisted by Arsenal as a potential defensive addition earlier this campaign. Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has urged the Red Devils to sign former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka from Sunderland . Xhaka played for the Gunners between 2016 and 2023, even captaining the side, before opting to seek out a new challenge in Germany. The 33-year-old won a domestic double with Bayer Leverkusen but has been hugely impressive since his return to the Premier League last summer, guiding the Black Cats to the middle of the table. Former goalkeeper Schmeichel believes United chiefs should look to sign the veteran Swiss star this summer. But Xhaka making a move to Arsenal’s bitter rivals would likely leave Arteta kicking himself, having been reluctant to let him leave in the first place and being well aware of his qualities. Schmeichel said about Xhaka on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast: "I think we should go and sign Xhaka. I make my case, what we are going to do is build the team around Kobbie Mainoo , right. "Now, Casemiro is leaving. Now you bring in somebody like Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson whatever… that’s still young, that’s still untried. What we need and what we don’t really have apart from Harry and Bruno in that team is proper leadership. "When I look at what Xhaka’s done for Sunderland, Xhaka is the reason they are where they are. He has been absolutely amazing, his leadership qualities are great, he can play 80 per cent of the games, he’s a really good player. We’re desperate for more leadership."