Arsenal have made a transfer decision on who to sign between midfield targets Houssem Aouar and Thomas Partey according to The Atheltic.

The Gunners want to sign both players but they are struggling to raise funds for the two transfers and this could lead to the signing of only one.

Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey is said to be the transfer priority for the Gunners as he’s a more complete midfielder than Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar.

In addition, the Ghanaian international has a release clause of £45m, while Arsenal will have to negotiate a transfer fee with Lyon for French junior international Houssem Aouar.

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has prioritised his midfield as the transfer window gradually winds down.

The Gunners struggled in midfield during the last Premier League game as they scrapped past West Ham United to further highlight the need for midfielders.

Substitute Eddie Nketiah came off the bench to score the winning goal as the North Londoners maintained their 100% record with a 2-1 home win over the Hammers.

Arteta and Arsenal are trying to raise funds for the signings of Partey and Aouar but they have not been successful in this regard.

The £20m transfer of Emiliano Martinez to Aston Villa has been the only significant player sale made at the Emirates Stadium this summer.

North London outfit are keen on bringing in a midfielder with manager Mikel Arteta having his attention on Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey from Spanish La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid.

It has been a stressful wait to land a midfielder as the Gunners are unwilling to meet the valuation of the Atletico Madrid player due to the lack of funds. Efforts to reduce the financial burden of £45 million by including a player in the deal have been rejected by the Spanish La Liga outfit.

However, it is now reported that the Gunners are considering moving in for Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante as an alternative for Thomas Partey with Daily Express reporting that the two London clubs are in talks.

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Should an agreement be reached between the two London clubs, the North London outfit will be sending Matteo Guendouzi to west London but the Gunners will have to add some cash to make the deal work through.

While this report cannot be confirmed, the North London club have confirmed that they are actively in the summer transfer market and are hoping to bring in new legs before it is shut down.

The Arsenal outcast has been offered to Atletico Madrid in a proposed swap deal for Thomas Partey but it was rejected.

Although Mohamed Elneny might have had good performances since he returned from his season-long loan spell but that does not mean he will remain at the club for the season if the latest reports are anything o go by.

It is reported that the Egyptian’s agent has travelled to Turkey to hold talks with the Galatasaray and Trabzonspor with both clubs having an offer for the Gunners midfielder.

ExtraSport is convinced that Mohamed Elneny could be the next exit from the Emirates Stadium despite starting getting the nod from manager Mikel Arteta in two of the first three games this season.

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With reports that his agent is already in Turkey, it is understood that Mohamed Elneny will be agreeing on a deal with either of the mentioned clubs before returning back.

It is believed that the move by Mohamed Elneny is connected with Arsenal’s bid for new midfielders, a development that sends the signal that the Egyptian might go down the pecking order in the Mikal Arteta team.

However, the North London outfit will prefer a permanent deal for Mohamed Elneny as they will hope to cash in from his sale to be able to sanction other deals in this summer transfer window.

If there is anything Arsenal fans will not wish to hear, then it is the interest in Houssem Aouar by other clubs but sadly, that is already happening.

The latest reports have claimed that a Champions League team is also interested in the signature of the Lyon midfielder but they are only keeping it late to land him this summer transfer window.

Lyon director Juninho hints that the final two weeks of the summer transfer window could have the Champions League club step forward with their bid for Houssem Aouar.

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The Telegraph also reports that the Gunners’ rivals will be willing to pay the £54 million wanted by the French Ligue 1 outfit for Houssem Aouar and that could lure the player into agreeing on the deal as he will fancy a Champions League football ahead of the Europa League.

No doubt, Houssem Aouar is a top target for manager Mikel Arteta which makes the Gunners insist on his signature. For Arsenal to be able to land the Lyon midfielder, they will have to sell more players to boost their financial strength.

Arsenal have already cashed in £20 million from the sale of Emi Martinez and will have to do more to get rid of more players if they must meet the valuation by the French Ligue 1 outfit.

If you have ever heard that Barcelona star Lionel Messi was linked with a move to the English Premier League outfit Arsenal in the past and doubt that it is true. It has been talked about again.

Lionel Messi’s former agent has recalled how the Argentina international came close to becoming a Gunner in 2003 with former manager Arsene Wenger making an attempt to snap him up.

Speaking to Marca, Fabian Soldini said Lionel Messi was close to joining Arsenal as he was tempted by the offers from the English Premier League side but he later opted not to go.

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According to him, the North London outfit were only able to prise away Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas because he accepted to leave as both were asked by the Catalans to go.

Cesc Fabregas went ahead to develop at the North London club but Lionel Messi became a more prominent figure in the game, and all of the feats would have been achieved in an Arsenal shirt.

With the number of players reported to have been linked with Arsenal under former manager Arsene Wenger, there is no doubt that the Frenchman is one of the best scouts, even as a manager, having identified such talent from a very young age.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has made the addition of a central midfielder his top priority for the rest of this summer’s transfer market according to the Daily Mirror.

Arteta could even need to sign two central midfielders with the future of young French midfielder Matteo Guendouzi in serious doubt at the club.

Matteo Guendouzi is not in Arteta’s plans, and the club is ready to listen to offers for him.

In his bid to sign a midfielder, Mikel Arteta wants to offload two defenders to provide non-homegrown space and funds for new arrivals.

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Defenders Shkrodan Mustafi and Sead Kolasinac could be on their way out of Arsenal before the current transfer market closes in 12 days’ time.

Mustafi is the subject of a transfer enquiry from Italian Serie A side Lazio.

The German World Cup winner has less than a year on his Arsenal contract and a fee of around €15m as been mooted as the transfer figure required for his move from North London to Lazio.

Arsenal might negotiate his transfer for lesser as they try to cash in on him. The Gunners have adequate centre-back cover following the arrivals of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba from France.

Gunners left-back Sead Kolasinac is a big target for German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen with a fee of €10m being touted as the transfer figure needed for his move back to Germany.

Sead Kolasinac signed for the Gunners from German team Schalke 04 on a free transfer three years ago.

Premier League team Arsenal have been handed an ultimatum to fulfil the release clause obligations in the contract of Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey or risk losing out on him.

Renowned Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed via his official Twitter account that the Gunners will have to pay the €50m (£45m) release clause in Partey’s contract at the club before adding that Arsenal have less than two weeks to pull off the signing.

The transfer guru also pointed out that Atletico Madrid no longer have pressing financial needs after they sanctioned the transfer of Spanish striker Alvaro Morata to Juventus in a £49.5m.

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Morata has returned to Juventus on a loan deal for this season at £8.2m with the option to make his transfer permanent for £41.3m at the end of the loan contract next summer.

Arsenal have been trying to sign Thomas Partey since the current transfer window opened in July.

Atletico Madrid are interested in Arsenal player Lucas Torreira and the Gunners proposed a player-plus-cash offer involving the Uruguayan and Thomas Partey but it was swiftly turned down by the La Liga team.

The Gunners must pay the release clause of the 27-year-old Ghanaian international in full to sign him.

According to reports from Football London, Arsenal sporting director Edu has picked out £27m AS Roma midfielder Amadou Diawara as the alternative for the Gunners if they are unable to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey, and his Lyon counterpart Houssem Aouar.

The 23-year-old Guinean is a defensive midfielder and he’s seen as the transfer alternative for both Partey and Aouar.

Gunners’ boss Arteta has made both Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar his midfield targets in the current transfer window, but the club will need a lot of money to pull off just one of the two transfers.

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Atletico Madrid are adamant that Arsenal will have to pay the £45m release clause in Partey’s contract at the club.

The Spaniards are interested in signing an Arsenal player, Lucas Torreira, but they are only ready to offer a loan deal for the diminutive Uruguayan international.

Lyon skipper Aouar is a more attack-minded midfielder than Partey and he’s more expensive at £53m.

He was at the heart of Lyon’s midfield last season as they reached the Champions League semi-finals. Aouar scored nine goals plus 10 assists in 41 games last season for the French club.

Arsenal offered midfielder Matteo Guendouzi earlier in this window but the option of a swap deal was thrown out by Lyon.