Why Arsenal making a shock Nick Woltemade move makes perfect sense
Arsenal are already engaged in talks with Newcastle United over one player, with another move potentially on the horizon.
The Gunners’ pursuit of Bruno Guimaraes is moving slowly, as the Magpies captain prepares to return ahead of the new season – while interest in Tino Livramento is well-documented, even if Arsenal haven’t made their move for the England full-back yet.
Intriguingly, though, could Newcastle have the perfect answer to Arsenal’s reshuffle in attack?
Newcastle United’s Nick Woltemade may well be the perfect fit for Arsenal
Nick Woltemade hit the ground running in the Premier League after Newcastle completed a club-record deal for the 23-year-old last summer – but as the season wore on, Woltemade hit stumbling blocks in his development, playing as a no.8 at times, as manager Eddie Howe pivoted to Will Osula up front.
As noted by The Athletic’s Seb Stafford-Bloor in a post on X (formerly Twitter), the German has been the subject of several rumours of Newcastle making him available for loan – which Stafford-Bloor says are wide of the mark.
Nevertheless, perhaps while Arsenal are looking at Guimaraes and Livramento, the perfect forward signing for them this summer is staring them in the face.
A tall, technically adept forward capable of holding the ball up and dropping deep into the midfield sounds all too familiar to Arsenal fans – and given how badly the Gunners missed Kai Havertz during his injury-ravaged 2025/26, it seems amazing that Arteta hasn’t considered looking for a like-for-like replacement.
An ambitious move for Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr is in the works, while Julian Alvarez from the other end of the city is an A-list target, too, but neither of them really offer what Havertz does in attack.
Granted, Woltemade isn’t quite as industrious as his compatriot – he’s a more deft and slight attacker, a better finisher, too – but given that Arsenal’s alternative to their German no.9 is a polar opposite in Victor Gyokeres, why haven’t the Gunners even been linked?
The answer, no doubt, lies in the fact that Woltemade is still deemed to be a huge asset to Newcastle, despite a trying debut campaign.
Given the funds invested in the German international and the currently transitional state of the club, FourFourTwo understands that it would take a monster bid to take Woltemade out of the north-east – just as it will for Guimaraes to move to the capital.
Arsenal’s interest in Livramento, meanwhile, appears to have cooled for now with the injury to William Saliba suggesting that perhaps another centre-back is of more priority than a right-back.
Woltemade is worth €55 million, according to Transfermarkt. Arsenal host Coventry City to begin their title defence on Matchday 1 of the new season.
