French midfielder Moussa Sissoko declares his dream of joining Arsenal
Newcastle United midfielder Moussa Sissoko has publicly expressed his desire to leave the Tyneside club in the summer transfer window and has set his sights on joining Arsenal.
The Magpies were relegated from the 2015-16 Premier League season and will play in the Championship next term. The 26-year-old is in no mood to play in England's second division and wants to play at the top level.
Sissoko wants to play in the Champions League and he was flattered when he was asked about recent reports that suggested that the north London club have been watching him. Following Newcastle's relegation, the France international wants to leave his current employers in the transfer window.
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Currently, Sissoko is on international duty with France as he is a part of the squad for Euro 2016. He wants to focus on the upcoming European championship and will allow his representative to sort out his future.
"It is very flattering. Arsenal is one of the best European teams. To be watched by that sort of club, that proves that you are a quality player," Sissoko told FootMercato.
"Everyone knows, I often said it when I was young, Arsenal is the club of my heart, because there were quite a few French players there like Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Sylvain Wiltord, Patrick Vieira who was my idol…
"The beautiful Arsenal. We will see. I cannot tell you if I am going to go to Arsenal. For the moment, I am focused on the French national team and the Euros.
“I have advisors who manage all this and I hope everything will go well with minimal difficulty for me to find another club. I want to continue my career in England, at a club that plays in the Champions League because I think this best fits my style of play.”
“I gave everything there for three-and-a-half years. I hope that today [Newcastle] will be smart enough to understand that to continue my development I need to keep playing at the highest level.
“As I want to stay in the France team I could not stay in the Championship. There will be discussions. I hope they will go in my opinion. I want to leave.”
Arsene Wenger has already completed the signing of Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka. He arrived at the Emirates from Borussia Mönchengladbach as the Gunners manager is looking to bring in replacements for Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky this summer.