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Should Arsenal hijack Manchester United’s attempts to sign Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic?

Arsenal surprised many people by unveiling Alexandre Lacazette as their second signing of the summer behind left-back Sead Kolasinac. The French striker, who lit up Ligue 1, with his spectacular skills and goals, became Arsene Wenger’s main man and scored on his debut recently.

Having found a player to lead his line next season, manager Arsene Wenger will be looking to improve the rest of his squad, most notably in the midfield area.

The London club are likely to persist with a deeper midfield two throughout the opening weeks of the 2017/18 campaign, whether that be in Wenger’s preferred 4-2-3-1, or the 3-4-3 which the Gunners resorted to towards the end of last season, providing them with relative success.

Currently, Wenger must choose from Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Francis Coquelin and a very injury-prone Jack Wilshere to occupy these two roles.

Going forward, Xhaka is certainly a player who will occupy one of the midfield positions, with Arsenal having paid a large fee for him last summer. The Swiss International had a good first season in the Premier League and has a lot to give to any midfield.

But who partners him? Enter Nemanja Matic…

The Chelsea midfielder, who was an important piece in Antonio Conte’s league winning team last season, has been the subject of various transfer rumours and speculation this summer.

Alongside N’Golo Kante, the pair were rock solid in front of the Blues’ defence, not only offering support and cover, but also in providing a platform to which Chelsea were able to build their attacks from.

However, an exit looks on the cards for the Serbian midfield with the supposed imminent arrival of Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco, according to the .

Matic was set to reunite with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, but, if reports by  are to be believed, Chelsea may be keen on negotiating a swap deal with Arsenal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could join the Blues in return for Matic.

The England man is entering the final 12 months of his current contract and instead of Arsenal losing him for free next season, they could gain a Serbian enforcer instead.

For Arsenal, if they are to hijack a deal away from Man United, Matic could finally provide the grit and guile that has been so lacking in their midfield for so long, and could form a solid partnership alongside Granit Xhaka. Pursuing a deal for the Chelsea midfielder certainly makes sense.

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