Tottenham make feelings clear on selling Cristian Romero as Arsenal launch stunning approach for another Premier League star

Spurs’ stance on the prospect of selling club captain Cristian Romero to arch-rivals Arsenal has emerged while the Gunners have ramped up their interest in a Premier League defender.

Despite Roberto De Zerbi already welcoming Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Andrew Robertson and Martin Dubravka during the summer transfer window, his squad may still be set to alter ahead of the Lilywhites’ Premier League opener away at Brentford on August 22.

This is because Romero continues to be heavily linked with leaving the club, with Serie A’s Inter, La Liga’s Atletico Madrid and, surprisingly, Arsenal also keen on the South American, who is under contract until 2029.

There have been conflicting reports about Arsenal’s interest, with some journalists rubbishing the links.

However, on Wednesday (August 12), BBC Sport claimed the Gunners have in fact held exploratory talks with Spurs over a move for Romero, although Tottenham supposedly made clear they have no intention of selling the defender to their biggest rivals.

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Meanwhile, Arsenal continue to explore other deals ahead of the September 1 deadline.

Mikel Arteta has already seen his squad bolstered by the additions of Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis, Piero Hincapie and Illan Meslier this summer, but business is unlikely to stop there.

According to BBC Sport, Arsenal have reignited their interest in Aston Villa and England centre-back Ezri Konsa.

Earlier in the window, the Midlands club made clear that they would not be willing to sell the 28-year-old for a figure of less than £60million.

At the time, Arsenal said they were only willing to pay half of the asking price.

Konsa, who is contracted to Villa until 2028, is still on holiday following his World Cup commitments and will not feature in Unai Emery’s side’s Super Cup clash against Paris Saint-Germain in Austria.

Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez will also sit out, with Emery confirming their absence on August 11.

“They are not here because they finished the season July 19, and I gave them four weeks to rest, and it is completely necessary," Emery said. "Of course, if they were here, maybe we will have many more chances, but at the same time, I think PSG will be in same situation as us.

"We will prepare the game with players, even some young players, like we started with four weeks ago. Of course, they (PSG) are favourites."

Mikel Arteta hints at more Arsenal transfer activity

Despite missing out on signing Vinicius Junior, who has signed a new six-year contract at Real Madrid, Arteta has explained how the Gunners are trying to add to their squad ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

When asked by reporters if fans should expect additional signings, the Spaniard said: “Well that's what we're trying to do.

"If we have the right player in the market to make us much better, we are very looking forward to that."