New suitor for Prestianni

Arsenal has joined the race for the signing of Gianluca Prestianni, an attacking midfielder from Benfica, who has started the season strongly and has become a target for several major clubs in Europe.

According to TyC Sports, coach Mikel Arteta sees the Vélez Sarsfield-trained attacker as an ideal profile to strengthen the wings of the 'Gunners' in the second half of the season, although he will have to deal with strong competition from Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich.

Arteta's tactical arguments and explosive figures in Lisbon

The interest from the technical department at Emirates Stadium is directly related to the statistical and stylistic impact of the South American player at the start of the 2026/27 season. Prestianni has recorded 12 goals and six assists in his first 20 official matches, raising his overall tally since debuting with the Lisbon first team to 16 goals and 14 assists in 76 games (after a brief initial stint with Benfica B following his arrival in January 2024 for nine million euros).

In Mikel Arteta's tactics, the Argentine stands out for five key virtues:

-Imbalance and vertical dribbling: Ability to accelerate with the ball at high speed and resolve actions in tight spaces.

-Association and interior threat: Tendency to diagonalize towards the central channel, precision in filter passes, and tight crosses from the left profile.

-Defensive sacrifice: Intensity in pressing after loss and ability to recover balls in the opposing half, a non-negotiable trait in the Basque coach's tactical model.

His development has already earned him a solid position in the senior Argentina national team, with which he has accumulated three international matches and one goal, in addition to raising his valuation on Transfermarkt to 40 million euros.

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100 million clause, extension until 2031, and Vélez percentage

Despite the onslaught from five of the clubs with the most financial muscle on the continent, SL Benfica maintains a position of maximum firmness in negotiations. Prestianni has a contract in place at Estádio da Luz until June 2029 and is protected by a release clause set at 100 million euros.

With no financial urgency to finalize a transfer mid-season, the Portuguese management has already begun talks with the player's agents to extend his contract until 2031 and secure his continuity. In the event of a million-dollar sale, Vélez Sarsfield will receive direct benefits by retaining 15% of the profit from a future transfer, a figure that will increase with the corresponding percentage of training rights stipulated by FIFA.

Scouts from Arsenal will continue to assess Gianluca Prestianni's performances live over the next weeks of November and December 2026. If the London club decides to make a formal move in the winter market, they will need to present a financial proposal close to the 100 million euros clause to convince SL Benfica to open the door in January 2027.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Nuevo pretendiente para Prestianni