Arsenal are hopeful of completing the loan signing of former Barcelona midfielder Arthur Melo from Juventus, talkSPORT understands.
Internal talks began at the Emirates last week regarding bringing Arthur to the club, and it is now understood that discussions are continuing to progress.
The 25-year-old has been identified as a suitable solution to Arsenal’s midfield woes.
Arthur signed for Juventus from Barcelona back in June 2020 but he has only featured for his side 29 times.
Joining as part of a swap deal for Miralem Pjanic, Arthur attracted the Italian side following a stellar campaign with Barcelona in which he was labelled by then-boss Quique Setien as an ‘extraordinary‘ player who ‘understands everything‘.
However, fast forward 18 months, injuries and competition for a spot in Juventus‘s starting XI have prevented him from truly hitting the ground running.
Given that Arthur is not receiving sufficient game time at the Allianz Stadium, guaranteed football at Arsenal may well be a perfect fit for all parties.
Mikel Arteta is desperately looking to bolster his side’s midfield options this window after being forced to play youngsters Charlie Patino and Albert Sambi Lokonga in their 1-0 FA Cup loss to Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners are particularly light on personnel to play in the middle of the park, with Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny’s current international duties at the Africa Cup of Nations weakening the Arsenal squad.
Emile Smith Rowe and Granit Xhaka were both absent in the FA Cup fixture due to the former suffering from a tight groin and the latter testing positive for Covid-19.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles has also been allowed to join AS Roma and, as a result, Martin Odegaard and Albert Sambi Lokonga are the the only senior midfielders available to the Gunners.
Speaking following the defeat on Friday, the Arsenal boss said: “We are going to move, and we are going to look for options because we are very short there.”
Arsenal have also been linked with Brighton’s Yves Bissouma and Palmeiras’ Danilo.