Premier League giants Arsenal will need to offload controversial midfielder Mesut Ozil in their quest to sign China-based winger Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco.

Yannick Carrasco plays for Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Yifang at the moment.

Italian media outlet Tuttomercatoweb revealed that the Gunners can only afford the huge financial salary of the former AS Monaco and Atletico Madrid winger if they can get the wages of Mesut Ozil off the books at Arsenal.

Yannick Carrasco earns at least £170,000 on a weekly basis at the Chinese Super League club.

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Mesut Ozil has lost his starting place at Arsenal since Unai Emery took over and reports claim that the Spanish coach has already offered to two Italian clubs namely Juventus and Inter Milan.

Arsenal will find it hard to get Mesut Ozil and his £350,000 weekly wages off the wage bill at the club.

2014 World Cup winner Ozil signed the contract in February 2018 and he still has two-and-a-half years left on the three-year deal that he signed last year.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has dropped Mesut Ozil from his squad on several occasions this season including last weekend’s London Derby clash with West Ham United.

Without the German, Arsenal were beaten 1-0 by their hosts with Declan Rice getting the only goal of the game.

Lille president Gerard Lopez has debunked exit rumours linking star player Nicolas Pepe with a move away from the club in the January transfer window.

The in-form Pepe has been heavily linked with a transfer out of French Ligue 1 giants Lille in the past few months.

Gerard Lopez spoke about Nicolas Pepe at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon as he confirmed that the Ivorian international attacker will stay at Lille until the end of the season.

Earlier reports had claimed that Lille have slapped a whopping €80m transfer fee on the 23-year-old.

The latest development on the Ivorian attacker will be a big blow to North London giants Arsenal.

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The Gunners are said to be keen on a move for him with the player top on the list of the North Londoners’ transfer targets.

Nicolas Pepe is a utility forward that can play on both wings (left wing and right wing) as well as the central forward position.

He has been in devastating form for his Lille side this season after netting 13 goals in the league this season.

Nicolas Pepe has been one of the standout stars of this French Ligue 1 season and his performances have propelled Lille to the top two on the league table.

North London giants Arsenal have made a breakthrough in their bid to sign Spanish international midfielder Denis Suarez from La Liga giants Barcelona during the ongoing January transfer window.

According to the Daily Express, the Gunners are closing in on a move for the Barcelona star after both parties reached an amicable point over his transfer.

Arsenal initially wanted a loan deal with the option to buy the talented midfielder in the summer but Barcelona were adamant that they will only sanction a permanent transfer for the 25-year-old.

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It was revealed that both clubs have agreed for Denis Suarez to join Arsenal on loan for the rest of the season with an obligation to make the deal permanent for £18m when his loan contract ends in the summer.

The Spaniard will reunite with compatriot Unai Emery having played under the Arsenal manager at Sevilla in 2015.

Denis Suarez has been identified as a major transfer target for the Gunners in this transfer window by Unai Emery alongside Sevilla midfielder Ever Banega but will have to pay his €20m release clause rather than a loan deal in the case of the Barcelona midfielder.

Unai Emery is looking to boost his squad with new signings for the second half of the season.

Experienced journalist Gabriele Marcotti has revealed that any hopes of Arsenal signing Bayern Munich loanee James Rodriguez rests on two key men at the club.

Colombian international playmaker James Rodriguez is on a two-year loan deal at German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich from Champions League holders Real Madrid.

Bayern paid £11.5m for his loan contract with the option to make it permanent for £37m at the end of his deal this summer.

Gabriele Marcotti talked about the transfer links involving Arsenal and James Rodriguez while the Italian he was doing his punditry job on popular media outlet ESPN via the Daily Express.

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According to him, any Arsenal deal for Colombian star James Rodriguez is dependent on both Raul Sanllehi (chief executive) and manager (Unai Emery).

Gabriele Marcotti further questioned why the Gunners would be interested in signing another playmaker despite the fact that the Gunners have several playmakers like Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in their ranks.

Arsenal have been linked with James Rodriguez in the current transfer window with reports claiming that the Gunners can sign him for just £3m.

The said money is for the remaining six months on his loan deal at German champions Bayern Munich.

Former Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi could still feature in the Premier League this season but not with the Blues, that’s according to Sky Sports News.

The 31-year-old star is a free agent after terminating his contract with Chinese side Tianjin Teda last month and host of Premier League clubs are trailing his signature.

Sky Sports report that the Super Eagles (Nigeria national team) captain is being tracked by Cardiff and Crystal Palace who are both aiming to avoid relegation by the end of the season.

Cardiff are struggling to cope with the League’s capacity and quality, hence, they are looking to sign the experienced player who spent 11 years at Stamford Bridge.

The highly-rated media channel also reveal that the Bluebirds have reached personal terms with the player as he will be on a ‘pay as you play’ deal.

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Crystal Palace are not struggling at the moment, but their safety is not guaranteed yet. They currently occupy the 14th position on the League standings with 22 points, four points above the drop zone.

The Eagles have been inconsistent in their performances at the middle of the park and Hodgson is aiming for Mikel’s ability to control his midfield setup.

Championship side Middlesbrough are equally in the race to sign the calm and quality midfielder this month.

The Boro are targeting promotion to the country’s top flight league and they hope to sign the free agent as soon as possible.

Mikel spent 11 seasons with Chelsea and he helped the Stamford Bridge outfits win many trophies including FA Cup, Premier League, Champions League, Capital One Cup, and Europa League.

English Premier League outfit Chelsea powerhouse N’Golo Kante could just be on his way out of the Stamford Bridge according to claims made by football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

This is after it was reported that the West London side will be bringing in Leandro Paredes to the Stamford Bridge in coming days.

The West London side recently parted ways with former Barcelona and Spanish star Cesc Fabregas who joined the French Ligue 1 outfit Monaco and they are keen to replace him before the end of this winter transfer window.

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Football finance expert opines that the coming of Leandro Paredes could cause some shakeups in the Maurizio Sarri side as he would be going straight into the team which means that Jorginho and N’Golo Kante will not be accommodated in the same team.

He noted that the Italian boss might be forced to make a decision that will ensure the exit of one of the two holding midfielders so as not to create duplicate of functions.

Already there have been hitches with the coming of Jorginho as N’Golo Kante was drifted to a more wide position which according to reports his uncomfortable for him.

However, suggestions are that N’Golo Kante could just be the victim knowing that the former Napoli boss is more confident in Jorginho for a defensive role than the former Leicester City man.

Premier League giants Manchester United might have to pay a huge transfer fee to sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona in the current January transfer window.

Brazilian international Coutinho has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in the past few weeks after failing to settle down at Barcelona.

The Red Devils have been linked with a £100m bid for him but the Daily Mirror say that the 20-time English champions will have to pay more for him.

It was revealed that Philippe Coutinho has a staggering £355m as the release clause in his current deal with the Spanish La Liga champions.

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Barcelona are not looking to sell him and Manchester United might need to activate the aforementioned release clause to sign him.

Coutinho was seen as the long-term replacement for Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta when the Blaugrana splashed the cash on him but he has not been able to meet that expectation at the club.

The 26-year-old has already lost his place in the Barcelona XI to French World Cup winner Ousmane Dembele in recent games.

Philippe Coutinho has started just one of the last five games in the league and that sole start came at the weekend in the 3-0 win over lowly Eibar at the Nou Camp.

Italian journalist Nicolo Schira has revealed that Premier League giants Arsenal are in advanced talks to sign two players this month.

The Gazzetta dello Sport media personnel made this known on his official Twitter account as monitored by Football London.

According to the experienced journalist, Arsenal are in advanced talks to sign both Denis Suarez and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco as the Gunners target quality additions to boost the squad ahead of the second half of the season.

Spanish midfielder Denis Suarez is on the payroll of La Liga giants Barcelona at the moment, while Belgian international winger Carrasco is based in China.

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Yannick Carrasco joined Chinese Super League club Yifang Dalian at the start of last year after leaving Spanish La Liga giants Atletico Madrid and has scored seven goals in 25 appearances for his team.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery is no stranger to both players from his time in Spain especially Denis Suarez.

Denis Suarez excelled under Unai Emery at Seville four years ago (2015) and the Spaniard will definitely welcome the opportunity to work with him again at Arsenal.

The Gunners are likely to sign the two players on loan with the club handicapped for funds as confirmed by Unai Emery in one of his recent press conferences.

Experienced Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur has confirmed that North London giants Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign exciting winger Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco.

According to him via the Daily Star, Belgian international attacker Yannick Carrasco has been offered to the Gunners who don’t have the money to sign him.

Terreur further revealed that his wages will also be a problem for the North Londoners.

He earns £160,000 (€180,000) on a weekly basis in China.

Yannick Carrasco is desperate to return to Europe in the current January transfer window after leaving Spanish side Atletico Madrid for Chinese Super League club Yifang Dalian in February 2018.

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An Arsenal transfer for Carrasco will be possible on two conditions.

Firstly, he has to take a pay cut on his £160,000 per week salary.

The other condition is that his Chinese club would opt for a loan arrangement with the Gunners for the former AS Roma forward rather than their preference for a permanent deal.

Arsenal have been restricted to possible loan signings this month after it was revealed that the club has no money to spend in this transfer window.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery confirmed the ‘no money’ stance from the club in one of his recent pre-match press conferences.

Arsenal are reportedly prepared to pay midfielder Mesut Ozil to speed up his exit from the club.

According to the ESPN, senior club officials don’t mind paying Ozil after he leaves the club with Arsenal finding it difficult to sell him because of his huge salary.

Earlier reports claim that the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner has already been offered to the Italian Serie A duo of Juventus and Inter Milan by Gunners boss Unai Emery after Ozil failed to adapt to his methods since the start of the season.

ESPN confirmed that there is interest in Mesut Ozil from China and that Inter Milan are also open to a loan deal for the former Real Madrid and Schalke 04 playmaker but his huge salary is a stumbling block to any transfer.

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Mesut Ozil is on a weekly pay of £350,000 following the contract that he signed in February 2018.

The recently retired German international star still has two-and-a-half years left on that contract.

Ozil and Unai Emery have not enjoyed a good working relationship since the latter was appointed the Arsenal manager in the summer.

The Spaniard had dropped Ozil on numerous occasions including last weekend’s Premier League London Derby defeat (1-0) at the hands of West Ham United.