Arsenal transfer news: Mikel Arteta’s favourite midfielder “almost” signs

Mikel Arteta of Arsenal (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta of Arsenal (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

In today’s Arsenal transfer news – Arsenal edge closer to agreeing a fee for their priority midfield transfer, an update on Granit Xhaka & much more.

For yesterday’s Arsenal transfer news, click here.

Arsenal transfer news – Agreement with West Ham over Declan Rice close

Yesterday, we revealed that Arsenal were close to submitting their opening bid for Declan Rice. However, at this point in time, West Ham’s valuation of their star Englishman was a mystery, despite Arsenal’s best efforts to plan their bid for many months now.

Well, according to trusted journalist Miguel Delaney (via HITC), Arsenal are close to reaching an agreement with West Ham over their shared valuation of Declan Rice. Therefore, Rice’s final game in Claret and Blue could’ve been the best game in the club’s history.

Arsenal transfer news – Granit Xhaka accepted exit a month ago

The forgotten hero in this saga is Granit Xhaka. It’s likely that he’ll be the player to leave to make room for Rice’s arrival, despite being a revitalised midfielder under Mikel Arteta last season.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Granit Xhaka had accepted the offer to join Bayer Leverkusen a month ago. From Arsenal’s perspective, they will give the green light for this deal once they sign a new midfielder.

Arsenal transfer news – Arsenal interested in Ayrton Lucas

According to Calcio Mercato, Arsenal are pursuing the potential move for Ayrton Lucas. With Kieran Tierney on his way out, the Flamengo left-back could be the perfect backup option to Oleksandr Zinchenko and would be a like-for-like replacement.

What do you make of today’s Arsenal transfer news?