Mikel Arteta really does need to get his skates on if he wants to be able to bring certain players to Arsenal in good time, and ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign.
The pressure will be on the Gunners boss from the get-go, given how poorly they performed for long periods during last season.
MORE: Arsenal to sell four more?
With Martin Odegaard having recently decided not to return to the Emirates Stadium, per the Daily Mirror, the Spaniard is light in midfield.
The way in which Arteta likes his Arsenal teams to play mean that a high degree of responsibility is placed on the club’s attacking midfielders.
To that end, it’s little wonder that Leicester City’s James Maddison is still of interest.
However, as respected journalist, Fabrizio Romano, has noted, it’s a deal that’s far from being completed.
“Well, the truth is that the player is appreciated and that Arsenal are looking for a player in this position because they lost Martin Odegaard and they need a new number 10, and Maddison is highly appreciated, this is true,” he said on the Eye to Eye Podcast, cited by HITC.
“However, from appreciating a player to signing a player there is a lot to do […] at the moment Leicester are convinced the player is staying and they’re not intentioned to sell him, so they want a crazy bid, and at the moment Arsenal have not made an official bid.”
There is still a window of opportunity for the deal to get done, though it would be better all round if this could be sooner rather than later.