The Manchester City star briefly looked like he was heading to Arsenal after he applauded David Raya’s transfer to the Gunners, but Aymeric Laporte now looks Saudi-bound
Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte sent David Raya a message on Instagram after the goalkeeper’s move to Arsenal was confirmed – just hours before his own transfer to Saudi Arabia was agreed.
Laporte himself has fallen down the defensive pecking order at the Etihad under Pep Guardiola and played less than 1000 league minutes last term as City won a historic treble. While the defender is familiar with the coaching philosophy of Gunners boss Mikel Arteta given they spent a year-and-a-half together in Manchester while the current Arsenal manager served as Guardiola’s assistant, rumours of him moving to the Emirates are wide of the mark.
Speculation did go into overdrive when fans spotted that Laporte had commented two applause emojis under Raya’s post confirming he was now an Arsenal player. Many supporters felt that the message was the City star’s way of hinting that he could also be lining up in north London sooner rather than later.
The rumours made sense, the Gunners forked out £38million on Jurrien Timber this summer, only to see the versatile defender sustain an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his Premier League debut. It is believed that Timber could be looking at as long as seven months on the sidelines, meaning Arsenal could feasibly look for further defensive reinforcements such as Laporte.