Arsenal’s midfield is starting to take shape ahead of next season and the re-singing of Dani Ceballos is huge, but they still need to add some more players if they want to work their way back into the top four.
Some kind of anchor man or defensive midfielder would be welcome, but it also looks like Mikel Arteta is trying to find a new partner for Ceballos.
The main target appears to be Lyon star Houssem Aouar who’s been linked again by The Express, but it looks like Arsenal’s hopes of landing him are fading fast.
READ MORE: Arsenal may struggle to offload star as Euro giants take an unrealistic negotiating position
It’s suggested that The Gunners tried to offer Matteo Guendouzi in an exchange deal, but Lyon have informed them that they won’t be accepting any kind of swap deal, while their asking price of £54m still stands.
The report goes on to claim that Arsenal simply cannot afford that just now, so it looks like the deal will not be happening unless they suddenly sell a few players for decent money.
Things are looking up on a personal note for the player after it was confirmed that he had returned to training after testing positive for covid-19:
He's back…@HoussemAouar is back in training with @OL_English after having tested positive for COVID-19 ?
? Houssem Aouar/Insta pic.twitter.com/IwIof7424H
— Ligue1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) September 9, 2020
At least that means he should be free to travel again if an agreement can be reached, but it’s hard to see any way that Arsenal will meet Lyon’s demands.