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The club has been heavily linked with the 18-year old in recent weeks, and now their interest appears to have firmed-up top the stage where a firm bid has been received by his club FCSB (formerly known as Steau Bucharest).
However, the club President insists that he is holding out for more money. The Gunners have offered £6.4 million for the player who made his first-team debut aged just 14, whereas FCSB want £8.5 million plus a 20% sell-on fee in case Arsenal later transfer him to another club.
Given his age, if Stoica does join the club, he is Lilley to be regarded as one for the future and will likely join the Arsenal under-23 squad, rather than press for a first-team place immediately.
However, as Bukayo Saka has proved, those who are good enough get picked, no matter their age.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.