Arsenal have reportedly opened talks over a potential loan transfer swoop for Real Madrid attacking midfielder James Rodriguez, currently on loan at Bayern Munich.
According to the Independent, the Gunners have made initial contact through intermediaries to investigate Rodriguez’s availability.
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Interest from Arsenal right now makes sense given manager Unai Emery does not seem to rate Mesut Ozil after freezing him out of his starting XI for much of this season.
While Rodriguez has had his own issues at both Bayern and Madrid, he has shown in the past that he could be a potential upgrade on someone like Ozil.
However, the Independent note that Real would rather try to offer the Colombia international to Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham due to their interest in Christian Eriksen.
If Spurs are interested in the 27-year-old, this would likely give them a big edge in any potential deal.
Arsenal, however, will hope they can get some loan signings in this January as their squad looks in need of a few more quality additions before they can be sure of making the top four.
AFC have also been linked with a loan move for Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez, with the Daily Mirror recently stating progress had been made in talks for that deal.