Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson is adamant that West Ham United forward Marko Arnautovic is too good for Chinese Super League football.

The Gunners legend said this in his column with the Daily Star before adding that maybe the money is too good for the Austrian international star to turn down.

Marko Arnautovic is said to be on his way to China after Shanghai SIPG opened talks with the Hammers over a potential £35m transfer for the former FC Twente and Werder Bremen.

Footballer turned pundit Paul Merson believes that Marko Arnautovic has the quality to play for major Premier League sides like Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester United.

• Chelsea ready for £40m deal with Everton

Arnautovic was previously linked with a move to Chelsea and Manchester United with reports claiming that it would take a £50m transfer for him.

The Red Devils were strongly linked with Marko Arnautovic especially when Jose Mourinho was the manager before he was sacked in December.

Arnautovic has become a key player for West Ham United since the Hammers secured his signing from Stoke City at the start of last season in a deal worth £24m.

The Austrian forward has found the back of the net seven times this season in the Premier League.

Former Premier League midfielder Jack Collison has berated North London giants Arsenal for a costly transfer mistake.

The ex-West Ham United player slammed the Gunners for letting Aaron Ramsey leave the club.

Aaron Ramsey is all but a Juventus player after he signed a pre-contract agreement with the Old Lady having already undergone his medical ahead of a free transfer move this summer.

It was revealed that an official announcement is expected next month.

Ramsey is leaving Arsenal after senior club officials withdrew their offer of a new contract in September.

• Chelsea preparing bid for World Cup star

The Welshman is the longest serving player in the Arsenal squad with over a decade at the Emirates Stadium.

While speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live via the Daily Express, footballer turned pundit Jack Collison questioned why Arsenal will let a quality player like Ramsey leave the club before narrating how the huge salary handed to star player Mesut Ozil has come back to haunt the club in a big way.

2014 World Cup winner Ozil put pen to paper on a three-year contract worth £350,000 on a weekly basis last February to make him the highest paid earner in the history of the club.

Ramsey asked for a big salary increment as a result and that led to the withdrawal of the Gunners contract offer with the club citing footballing and financial reasons for the decision.

Italian Serie A giants Napoli are the latest club to show an interest in Bayern Munich midfielder James Rodriguez.

The 27-year-old has been the subject of transfer interest from several European clubs following his recent struggles with the Bavarian giants.

Italian news portal Calciomercato revealed the interest of Napoli in the Colombian international star.

It was revealed that Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti wants to reunite with James Rodriguez whom he worked with while he was the Real Madrid manager.

• Hazard speculation awakens as Madrid plans perfect combination at Bernabeu

Italian tactician Ancelotti was the Real Madrid manager when James Rodriguez signed for the Los Merengues in a big money transfer worth £63m from French Ligue 1 giants AS Monaco shortly after the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament in Brazil.

James Rodriguez is on a two-year loan deal at Bayern Munich from Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid having joined them before the start of last season with the Bavarian giants paying £11.5m for the loan with the option to sign the player permanently for just £37m.

Napoli can sign him for £37m if Bayern Munich fail to take up the above stated payment option or he could cost the Italians more money if the German champions decide to activate the aforementioned option.

Arsenal have been linked with a £3m payment for the remaining six months on his loan deal at Bayern but the player is set to stay at the Allianz Arena.

It has been established that English Premier League outfit Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard could be on his way to Spanish La Liga outfit Real Madrid.

The Belgium international star Eden Hazard has refused to commit his future to the West London side which places him on the way out of the club.

A number of clubs came knocking for the star player having known his availability but the Bernabeu outfit seem to have won the race with claims that an agreement has already been reached with Eden Hazard.

• Man United To Offer Real Madrid Target New Contract

According to Marca, Los Blancos seek Eden Hazard as a replacement for star player Cristiano Ronaldo who left the club at the end of the season to Italian Serie A outfit Juventus.

However, the latest report hints that the Belgium international is preparing to join the Spanish side but has told Madrid to keep it cool until the end of the season as he needed to concentrate on his game.

However, the West London side are already in search of a replacement for the Belgium international playmaker as they wish to bring in a new playmaker.

Meanwhile, the Blues are desperate to land a striker because of the lack of cutting edge in the team as Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata have run dry of goals.

English Premier League leaders Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has made his thoughts out on the rivalry between his side and the Manchester United team.

Both teams have got a long history of rivalry but this time around they seem not to be even with the Merseyside club sitting on top in the Premier League table while the Red Devils are struggling in the sixth position.

United had a very slow start of the season under their former manager Jose Mourinho but that has since changed since his sack with new interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returning them back to winning ways by securing six wins in six games.

• Liverpool 20-goal target close to Spain move

On the other hand, it has been a sweet journey for the Reds as they finished second in the league table and they are on the verge of winning it this season as they are currently on top of the log.

This remains a thing of concern for the Reds boss Jurgen Klopp who is of the opinion that the Red Devils fans will be after his side because of their feat so far this season.

According to him, Unite fans are desperate to see their title push collapse as they will prefer any other team to win the title than his Reds team.

It is no longer news that English Premier League outfit Chelsea are keen on the signature of Russia topflight outfit Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Leandro Paredes.

It is reported that a bid has been tabled by the West London side for the star midfielder with talks expected to be opened in coming days after an agreement has been reached between both parties.

According to the report, the Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is at the forefront of the push for Leandro Paredes and is ready to do all within his powers to have him join the Stamford Bridge.

• Finally, Chelsea to step up bid for 15-goals in-form forward

However, former Zenit St Petersburg chief Oreste Cinquini revealed that the Chelsea boss has been a long term suitor of the star player.

According to him, the Italian boss made an attempt for Leandro Paredes when he was in charge at Napoli but the deal failed along the way as both sides failed to agree on terms.

The former Zenit’s sporting director Cinquini revealed that Argentina international went ahead to make the decision to join the Russian side, snubbing the English Premier League side.

However, talks with Zenit are ongoing with a deal expected to be sealed before this January winter transfer window.

Bayern Munich star James Rodriguez has decided to stay at the club despite the strong interest from several European clubs including Arsenal.

This was confirmed by the ESPN who claimed that sources close to the player revealed that he wants to stay at the Allianz Arena until the end of the season at the minimum and that Bayern would like to keep him at the club.

Earlier reports had claimed that North London giants Arsenal were keen on a move for him in the current transfer window in the bid to strengthen their creative options.

It was further revealed that the Gunners can sign the Colombian international playmaker on loan for the remainder of the season for just £3m.

• Steven Gerrard confirms speculation of Liverpool raid but made his reaction

The said fee is for the remaining six months on the two-year loan deal that he signed with the Bavarian giants whom the former FC Porto and AS Monaco player joined from Champions League holders Real Madrid at the start of the last campaign.

Bayern Munich were said to have paid a whooping sum of £11.5m for the loan deal with an option to buy him permanently for £37m this summer.

It remains to be seen whether the German champions will take up that option (buying him outrightly).

Former Arsenal player Charlie Nicholas has called on manager Unai Emery to sell three members of the playing squad at the club including the controversial Mesut Ozil.

German playmaker Ozil has been hugging the headlines for weeks after falling out with Unai Emery having failed to adapt to the new tactics/methods introduced by the Spaniard.

Mesut Ozil has been left out of the Arsenal squad for tactical reasons on several occasions including last weekend’s 1-0 away defeat at the hands of London rivals West Ham United in the Gunners’ last Premier League game.

Arsenal legend Charlie Nicholas spoke about the Arsenal squad while he was doing his punditry job on Sky Sports as monitored by the Metro.

• Finally, He’s One Step Away From Joining Arsenal

He told the Gunners boss to sell the aforementioned Ozil and the defensive duo of Shkrodan Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny.

Nicholas is certain that Arsenal can get buyers for Ozil from the Chinese clubs if West Ham United forward Marko Arnautovic is attracting strong interest from a club in the Chinese Super League.

He also asked Unai Emery to release club skipper Laurent Koscielny and sell Shkrodan Mustafi as he tried to rebuild his defence.

The ex-Arsenal player had earlier said that he has already lost hope on a top-four finish.

Experienced journalist Guillem Balague has revealed that Arsenal will spend money on transfers during this summer’s transfer window.

Arsenal have been in the spotlight for the better part of the January transfer window after club manager Unai Emery told reporters at a press conference that the Gunners don’t have money to spend on signings this month and that they can only sign players on loan.

The revelation from the Spanish tactician has led to an uproar amongst the Arsenal faithful who are at a loss as to why senior club officials can’t spend money on a playing squad crying out for reinforcements.

• Arsenal Transfer For James Rodriguez Depends On Two Key Men, Journalist Reveals

Guillem Balague via his transfer show monitored by Football London explained that Arsenal spent a lot of money in the last two transfer windows and that has handicapped the club in a big way in the current transfer window.

The Spanish La Liga expert went on to say that Arsenal will spend money on players in the summer.

Arsenal spent £70m on the quintet of Sokratis Papasthathopoulos, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Bernd Leno last summer and the spendings were preceded by a club-record transfer for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last January as well as the big wages handed out to both Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the first few months of 2018.

Paris St-German have reportedly joined Chelsea in the race to sign Zenit Saint Petersburg midfielder Leandro Paredes, that’s according Sky Sports.

The Blues were said to be interested in the star player this month as Sarri looks for Cesc Fabregas’ replacement but this report will surely be a disappointing one for him.

The Ligue 1 Champions are believed to have tabled a £31m offer for the Argentine player who joined the Russian side from Empoli in 2017.

Considering the free-spending nature of the Parc Des Princes outfits, Sarri stands a very slim chance of beating the French side to the player’s signature this month.

• Arsenal Close To Dropping Out Of Race For Serie A Star

Thomas Tuchel’s side have their eyes on this year’s Champions League trophy and they are doing everything possible to achieve their ultimate goal, even if it cost them a whole lot of money.

They set a new record when former manager Unai Emery signed Neymar from Barcelona for £200m last winter but the Brazilian couldn’t help them progress to the semi-finals of the competition during the previous season.

Tuchel’s strikers are in fine form and they can score goals against any team in Europe, nonetheless, the manager believes there’s a need to upgrade his midfield setup before the competition resume next month.

As much as it appears the Blues will miss out on Leandro’s signature, it’s not over yet because Abramovich might add to his already-made £30m offer so as to defeat PSG in the race for the 24-year-old defensive /attacking midfielder.