{"id":575097,"date":"2026-02-08T11:49:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T11:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/575097\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T11:49:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T11:49:17","slug":"arsenal-are-actually-pursuing-another-midfielder-thats-not-leon-goretzka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/575097\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal are actually ‘pursuing’ another midfielder that’s not Leon Goretzka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Arsenal\u2019s eyes for any future transfers are now firmly fixed on the summer but the name of Leon Goretzka is one that will no doubt keep getting mentioned.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reports on deadline day claimed Arsenal made a last-ditch move to sign Goretzka<\/a> but ultimately, settled with what they\u2019ve already got.<\/p>\n

The German international is very much admired by Arsenal and others around Europe.<\/p>\n

Who was your Arsenal Man of the Match vs Sunderland? Tell us why! <\/p>\n

However, according to German journalist Christian Falk, there is actually another midfielder on Arsenal\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n

Journalist suggests Arsenal are trying to sign Kees Smit<\/p>\n

Kees Smit is a name that\u2019s been linked with Arsenal<\/a> in recent days.<\/p>\n

Along with Liverpool, the Gunners are admirers of the AZ Alkmaar midfielder.<\/p>\n

Indeed, speaking on the latest BILD Podcast<\/a>, journalist Falk very much hinted that Arsenal\u2019s interest in Smit is indeed real.<\/p>\n

\u201cTottenham is also a topic. Personally, I\u2019d actually be happy about that because I quite like Tottenham. I\u2019m genuinely very curious. I would really like to see Goretzka in England. I\u2019m very intrigued by that idea,\u201d Falk said.<\/p>\n

\"AZPhoto by Ed van de Pol\/BSR Agency\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said an interview that, in terms of his playing style, he sees himself in the Premier League. Tottenham were interested. Arsenal remain interested too, although right now they\u2019re pursuing a player from Alkmaar, who\u2019s a bit younger than him and plays the same position. We\u2019ll see whether they rethink things.<\/p>\n

\u201cItaly is also an option \u2013 Milan, Juve, Napoli. Spain as well \u2013 Atl\u00e9tico. So he has options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is Arsenal target Kees Smit?<\/p>\n

Kees Smit is one of the rising stars of the Dutch game and having only just turned 20, he is very much on the radar of Europe\u2019s top clubs.<\/p>\n

Smit has already made just shy of 50 appearances for Alkmaar and has represented The Netherlands at every level up to the under-21s. Indeed, a senior call up is expected soon enough.<\/p>\n

A tall and rangy central midfielder, Smit also has a keen eye for goal and while playing in his last season for the Jong AZ team, scored eight times in just 13 appearances.<\/p>\n

If Patrick Vieira isn\u2019t Arsenal\u2019s greatest EVER captain, then who is? <\/p>\n

\"TottenhamPhoto by Shaun Botterill\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Smit has been a regular for Alkmaar this term and has already made 29 appearances across all competitions.<\/p>\n

Quite what Alkmaar would demand for such a talent, only they know. But it\u2019s clear Smit is one for the future and Arsenal like what they see.<\/p>\n

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Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arsenal\u2019s eyes for any future transfers are now firmly fixed on the summer but the name of Leon…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":575098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[112971,247038,221,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-575097","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-kees-smit","9":"tag-leon-goretzka","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116034860704900024","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}