Report: £50m-rated star ready to fly to London and link up with Arsenal, Arteta and Edu both big fans

Sat 15 January 2022 8:15, UK

Arsenal are currently on the lookout for a new central midfielder.

And Arthur Melo looks like one of the most solid leads for the Emirates outfit.

The Gunners have been heavily linked with the Juventus man over the past few weeks.

Mikel Arteta is in need of reinforcements in the middle of the park in the January transfer window.

Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny are at the Africa Cup of Nations while Granit Xhaka is suspended.

In addition, Martin Odegaard has tested positive for covid and Ainsley Maitland-Niles has joined Roma on loan.

Albert Sambi Lokonga is currently Arsenal’s only available senior central midfielder.

However, the Gunners seem to be closing in on reinforcements.

According to , there have been discussions between Arsenal, Juve and Arthur’s representatives.

The Gunners are reportedly ready to snap the Brazilian up on loan, while the player himself is also eager to make the move.

The report claims Arthur is ready to fly in to London next week and sign until the summer – if Juve give him the go-ahead.

Arthur’s club is currently looking to source a replacement first.

Arteta and Edu both reportedly big fans of Arthur

The outlet also reports that Arteta is a big fan of the 25-year-old and has been keeping tabs on him over the last few seasons.

Meanwhile, Brazilian outlet recently claimed that Arthur was a ‘suggestion’ from Edu to Arteta, having worked with him in the Brazil setup.

From 2016 to 2019, Edu was the Selecao general coordinator.

Arthur has struggled for game time this season, getting just 11 appearances and 426 minutes under his belt for Juve.

He is looking to get more first-team action ahead of the World Cup in Qatar with Brazil next summer.

Last month, reported that, while Arthur is surplus to requirements at Juve, they still rate him at £50million.