Deal Agreed : Arsenal target has agreed terms with Arsenal – and wants Arsenal over Liverpool : report...

Romeo Lavia would prefer to join Arsenal over Liverpool or Chelsea this summer, FootbalTransfers has learned.

Arsenal are in a three-horse race to sign the Southampton midfielder, along with Liverpool and Chelsea.

However, as FootballTransfers exclusively reported last week, Arsenal have fallen behind their two Premier League rivals in the chase.

The reason for this is because of the time it is taking to complete the signing of Declan Rice and the sale of Thomas Partey.

Why Romeo Lavia wants Arsenal

And FootballTransfers has learned that Lavia would prefer to sign for Arsenal over Liverpool and Chelsea if a price can be agreed with Southampton.

There are multiple reasons for this. The offering of Champions League football, the presence of Mikel Arteta and the ‘Arsenal project’, and the image of a well-run club have given the Gunners the advantage over their rivals in the eyes of Lavia and many other transfer targets.

Furthermore, Arsenal are able to pay better wages than Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool Tottenham and Chelsea this summer.

This is due to the excellent job the club has done in the past three seasons at clearing out dead wood and cutting expenditure on wages.

Agreeing a price with Southampton for Lavia could be tricky, as Arsenal are not willing to pay the £50 million that the relegated Premier League team are demanding.

Arsenal are in a good position with the player, though.

They have been talking to Lavia’s entourage since April. Talks have gone very well, which gives Arsenal the edge.