‘No way he’s going to Arsenal’, ‘Anywhere but England’ – Man City fans react as PL giant plot audacious move to sign €70m out-of-favour star

Manchester City fans have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relays a report that claims Arsenal have joined the race to sign full-back Joao Cancelo this summer.

The 28-year-old was surprisingly sent out on loan to Bayern Munich on the final day of the January transfer window after losing his regular starting place at the Etihad Stadium.

Cancelo had been a key cog in Pep Guardiola’s machine for two-and-a-half seasons, but the impressive form of Nathan Ake and the emergence of academy graduate Rico Lewis pushed him further down the pecking order.

The Portugal international has since made 13 starts and five substitute outings across all competitions for Bayern, who are understood to possess the option to sign the full-back on a permanent deal this summer.

However, the Bavarian giants allegedly have no plans to trigger that €70m (£61.5m) clause, meaning Cancelo is set to return to the Etihad at the end of the season.

Cancelo is under contract at the Etihad until June 2027 and has left the door open to resume his career with Man City next season, but City fans booed the defender when he returned to the Etihad with Bayern during the Champions League quarter-final clash in April, with the expectation that he will move on permanently this summer.

According to 90min, Arsenal are now looking to sign the Portuguese star this summer but will face stiff competition for Cancelo’s signature from several clubs including Bayern Munich and Real Madrid – who are also monitoring the situation.

The report adds that Mikel Arteta, who worked with Cancelo during his time as an assistant coach at Man City, views the Portuguese as someone who could seamlessly slot into his system.

Arsenal managed to successful lure two Man City players to the Emirates Stadium last summer in Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus, spending a combined fee in excess of £75m on the pair.

The report was shared on Twitter by City Xtra and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters.

@sevvy9: “No way he’s going to Arsenal. I reckon the board will block it, especially after Arsenal’s progress with Jesus and Zinchenko in the team.”

@RioLam12: “Didn’t city said they are not selling their players to any rival teams”

@ProudCityFan: “We ain’t gonna make that mistake again.”

@ErlingEuphoria: “Anywhere but England pls.”

@Mc_NamaraKeelin: “Never, ever sell a potential weapon to a domestic rival ever again.”

@konesbrian: “Not this time, unless they offer us 100M.”

@meamitshuklaa: “Sell him to anyone, who pays the maximum..”

@Sauce_Monstar: “There is absolutely no way this is true. If Pep and Cancelo clashed heads so will Arteta and Cancelo. Arteta doesn’t like egoistical players either just have a hard time seeing this transfer happen..”