Both clubs are keen to add more goals to their respective midfields.
Premier League leaders Arsenal have now joined rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign highly rated Lazio midfielder Hernanes, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.
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The north London club have made the addition of a high-quality attacking midfielder their number one priority of the current January transfer window, and now it is understood that Gunners head coach Arsene Wenger has switched his focus to the Serie A giants’ coveted Brazil international.
Hernanes, 28, had been heavily scouted by Tottenham while previous Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas was still in charge at White Hart Lane, with the Portuguese believed to be a huge fan of the player, although it is not known whether his predecessor in north London, Tim Sherwood, holds the same high opinion of Hernanes.
Either way, though, Arsenal’s experienced manager is now understood to have set his sights on Hernanes with a view to possibly luring the midfielder to the Emirates before the winter transfer window slams shut for business once again for the season at the end of the month.
Hernanes is currently contracted to the Romans until June 30 2015 and it is expected that Arsenal would need to fork out upwards of £20m in order to convince the Italians to part company with their star man in January.