Why Arsenal have turned to Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz after failed Vinicius Jr pursuit

[p]Mikel Arteta has made no secret of his desire for his side to be better than ever this year, and for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Gunners[/a] to have a realistic shot at retaining the title and going one better in the Champions League, a few tweaks here and there were inevitable.[/p][infobox id="c5ce5f5a-ccb6-468f-9fce-bb4a330c372a" /][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/yildiz-kenan/0EgOZVie/"]Yildiz[/a] the new target[/h2][p]Although the club missed out on signing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vinicius-junior/CbwQ4Mws/"]Vinicius Junior[/a] after the Brazilian opted to stay at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kroupi-eli-junior/fHMXip22/"]Junior Kroupi[/a]'s serious injury ruled out exploring that option, that might've put a dent in Arteta's plans, which have already included bringing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/konsa-ezri/4CQLQWTa/"]Ezri Konsa[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bruno-guimaraes/xtyKanzU/"]Bruno Guimaraes[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tzolis-christos/484Acu9H/"]Christos Tzolis[/a] to the club, whilst making Piero Hincapie's loan move permanent.[/p][p]Reports now suggest, however, that talented [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/juventus/C06aJvIB/"]Juventus[/a] ace Kenan Yildiz has been targeted for the left side of Arsenal's attack.[/p][embed guid="0f449b16-7104-4b65-b1a8-568b8947ce2b" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2020069551397040144?lang=en" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/trossard-leandro/xUAbnjp2/"]Leandro Trossard[/a] has already left the North Londoners for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/besiktas/IDmErJCR/"]Besiktas[/a], and rumours continue to swirl regarding [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinelli/dITe5M88/"]Gabriel Martinelli[/a]'s future at the club, so a move for the 21-year-old Turkish-German would make sense, even at a reported €100m+.[/p][p]Not that the Bianconeri would necessarily appreciate an approach from the Gunners for one of their best players, who is contracted to the Serie A giants until June 2030.[/p][h2]Martinelli to go the other way?[/h2][p]The potential of a player (Martinelli) plus cash deal exists, though it isn't clear at this stage if Italy's Old Lady would play ball in this regard, or indeed whether the Brazilian flyer would be willing to ply his trade in Serie A for the next few seasons.[/p][p]Regardless, it's easy to understand why Yildiz is of interest to Arteta.[/p][p]During 2025/26, the winger made 47 appearances in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and providing nine assists, which were both the best output from a Juve perspective. [/p][embed guid="60e6a3d3-f714-4774-a9b8-6ed7152f300e" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2090325961552306490" social-type="twitter" /][p]He also hit the woodwork on seven occasions and made 21 fast breaks across the season, with no teammates having more.[/p][p]Of the regular starters in the team, no one could match his 60.23% shooting accuracy, whilst his shot conversion rate of 10.69% was towards the top end when compared with his colleagues.[/p][h2]All-round capabilities[/h2][p]88 total shots, 53 of which were on target, were again the best in both cases, and Yildiz was the only player to score more than one brace in the season (two).[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cambiaso-andrea/vRzeXq5h/"]Andrea Cambiaso[/a]'s 68 chances created were the closest anyone got to the 100 created by Yildiz, and the 21-year-old's 84.08% pass completion was another string to his bow.[/p][image alt="Kenan Yildiz's Serie A output in 2025/26" id="27106d3a-9fb9-410f-9e8f-c776cc8f5588" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="24161f80-14db-4504-9351-c9897de924a8" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]As if to evidence his all-round capabilities, and something that Arteta will absolutely love about the player, his 471 duels contested were by far the most in the squad.[/p][p]He and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/locatelli-manuel/6RgXRdd8/"]Manuel Locatelli[/a] (402) were the only two players to break the 400 barrier in this regard, with Yildiz's 224 duels won being the second most, behind Locatelli.[/p][p]A player who loves having the ball, and whose direct running at the opposition full-back became a feature of Juve's play, his 162 ball recoveries were yet another highlight of his performances.[/p][h2]Many positives[/h2][p]Although just 33 tackles across the campaign isn't a great return, only seven other players attempted more, giving a little perspective on what is clearly the weakest part of Yildiz's game.[/p][p]Arteta might want to see some big improvements with regard to the player's tackling abilities, as this is arguably something that's hindered Martinelli at times, though it should also be borne in mind that his first priority will be to attack and put the full-back under pressure.[/p][image alt="Kenan Yildiz - Recent player ratings" id="f20f3211-e4de-4ad4-9847-a0d1a1b7e28c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="1226d3bd-82b8-4e27-a51e-c68a6f13baae" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]Of far more importance will be his successful take-ons (105, no one else managed more than 75), his 756 total ball carries, and his 830 passes into the final third of the pitch, all of which indicate just how attack-minded the winger is.[/p][p]Indeed, there are so many positives to his game that it would be foolish to try and temper those stats with the odd one or two that are perhaps not up to standard.[/p][p]What's not clear at this stage is whether the player wants to move to England, and whilst Juve surely won't want to sell him either, they're not in the position to rebuff Arsenal's financial muscle.[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]