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Arsenal want to make their presence felt this summer as they look to further overhaul the squad Unai Emery inherited from Arsene Wenger.
But they are facing the prospect of having a budget dwarfed by that of their rivals unless they beat Chelsea in the Europa League final.
Express Sport understands defeat in Baku later this month would mean Arsenal can only commit to a net spend of around £45-50m.
That’s bad news as Arsenal target Maguire and Leicester are influenced by how much City have paid for English defenders before.
The Sun claim the Gunners have identified Maguire as the man to bolster their defence ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
However, Leicester are demanding the north Londoners fork out a mega £60m – more than any British defender has cost before.
Leicester have arrived at that figure having seen Manchester City splash out £50m-plus on both John Stones and Kyle Walker in recent years.
And it could mean Arsenal have to look elsewhere, even if they win the Europa League and add around £25m to their transfer kitty.
A £60m deal for Maguire would leave just £15m for other signings as Emery attempts to freshen up his playing staff at the Emirates.
That would be an unenviable dilemma for Emery to deal with as Europa League glory would mean qualification for the Champions League group stages.
Arsenal have not played in UEFA’s elite club competition since the 2016/17 campaign, when they reached the round of 16.
And fans would surely fear the worst playing in the Champions League without major changes being made to improve Arsenal’s squad.
With regards to a move for Maguire, Arsenal also potentially face competition from Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea for his signature.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are understood to be looking for a left-sided defender with doubts over Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac’s futures.
They need to find a replacement for Aaron Ramsey as well, with the dynamic midfielder on his way to Juventus on a free transfer.
Arsenal are believed to be keeping close tabs on Ryan Fraser, who was a little over a year left to run on his Bournemouth contract.
They are interested in Nicolas Pepe too, though snapping up the in-demand Lille star may be beyond their limited finances.
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