Arsenal dealt transfer hammer blow as La Liga side fail to repeat Man Utd move

Arsenal have enjoyed shopping on the continent this summer, with the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi and Cristhian Mosquera brought in from European clubs. The latter two in particular, who have signed deals with the Emirates Stadium outfit after successful stints with teams in La Liga.

But Mikel Arteta might've been hoping that the favour would be returned from one La Liga team in the final few weeks of the transfer window, as Arsenal look to offload some of their deadwood. Chief amongst them is perhaps Oleksandr Zinchenko, who originally signed at the beginning of the 2022/23 season and made an immediate impact for Arteta's side.

However, in more recent times, Zinchenko's minutes have dropped off, with Arteta favouring the likes of Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back instead. As such, talk about a move away from the north London outfit has increased, with Real Betis mooted as a potential suitor.

Betis have shopped in the Premier League market in the past, most notably offering unwanted Manchester United winger, Antony, refuge for the second half of last season. He shone under Manuel Pellegrini, with the Brazil international impressing as Betis went on to reach the Conference League final.

But the chances of Betis offering Arsenal a similar helping hand now appear much slimmer, given reports in Spain seem to suggest the La Liga outfit are looking elsewhere. It's claimed by Estadio Deportivo that Betis are no longer interested in bringing Zinchenko to the club this summer.

The report suggests the reason for their hesitancy is down to Zinchenko's age, with Betis keen to add a younger player to their ranks instead. The Ukrainian is currently 28 but turns 29 later in the year, with Betis set to turn attention to Real Sociedad's Javi Lopez instead.

Zinchenko wrote about his frustration with his playing time last season during an updated version of his autobiography, Believe. When asked about the 2024/25 campaign, he explained: "I was basically out of the starting XI altogether, bar a few isolated matches. In pure personal terms, it was easily the worst season I ever experienced as a professional.

"A player who doesn't play is nothing. It's one thing when your body lets you down. That can happen. But going from one of the established play ers of the side to unused sub is much harder to deal with. The sense of rejection you feel if your manager no longer believes in you can take the stuffing out of you, even if you're the most resilient guy on the planet."