Arsenal have made an offer to sign Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie but still face competition from Leeds United, according to reports.
The Gunners are desperate to reinforce their midfield before the end of the transfer window, especially now Mohammed Elneny has picked up an injury in recent days.
Elneny is only a squad player but Arteta’s already-thin squad might not be able to cope with an injury to one or two more of their midfielders before the end of the season.
When asked yesterday whether the Egpyt international could miss the rest of the season, Arteta told reporters: “There are concerns.
“Mo is a player who never complains about anything. But let’s see. He had some issues with his knee that we are assessing at the moment.”
Pushed on whether it could see Arsenal enter the market for a midfielder, Arteta added: “Well, we need some more cover in midfield ideally if we can.
“In this market it’s pretty complicated to do that. The most important thing is that we get the performances and the time on the pitch that we need with the players we have available today that are already really good.
“If there’s anything else available that can make us better, we’ll look at it.”
And now Italian publication Repubblica claims that Arsenal and Leeds are going ‘head-to-head’ for McKennie’s signature after the Gunners submitted an offer ‘close to €30m’ for the USA international.
McKennie is now ‘one step away from the Premier League’ with his exit from Juventus ‘getting closer and closer’ after ‘his agent has been in London for about a week to negotiate the sale’.
Arsenal are the ‘ambitious club’ the 24-year-old has been looking for after he rejected proposals from Bournemouth and Aston Villa earlier in the window.
Leeds United ‘above all’ are challenging for his signature and has now ‘given his willingness to move to Leeds, who are now in full negotiation with Juventus for the deal formula’.
Former USA international Alexi Lalas thinks Arsenal would be a “step up” for McKennie and he has warned the Juventus midfielder that he will have to “fight for his spot” at the Emirates Stadium.
“A move to Arsenal, a move to Spurs – I know both of them are different right now – but they are a (step) up. Especially with what Juventus are going through right now,” Lalas told FOX Sports.
“Rumours about Weston McKennie moving are nothing new. I think (the rumours) are more real and based in…
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