Arsenal are in talks to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey, with the Gunners eyeing quality reinforcements to their squad this summer.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta wants to stiffen the spine of his team, and Partey is a key target with the Ghanaian widely acknowledged as one of the best players in his position in Europe.
A midfield partnership of Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos has impressed in recent weeks, but the Spaniard's loan deal from Real Madrid expires soon, and there is doubt over the futures of Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira.
According to The Guardian, Arsenal have already had two bids rejected by Atletico for Partey, with the latest a £22.5million offer including Guendouzi in part-exchange.
football.london understands the Ghana international is intrigued by the prospect of joining Arsenal, but Atletico are standing firm in their valuation of the 27-year-old, with his release clause standing at £45million.
Former Manchester United defender and BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand previously included Partey on a list of targets that the Red Devils should look to target in the summer window.
"I'd maybe go get [Thomas] Partey from Atletico Madrid or [Wilfred] Ndidi from Leicester," Ferdinand said on The Beautiful Game podcast in April.
"I like Saul Niguez. He’s a very, very good player in midfield."
He added: "And then a centre-back, they still need a centre-back.
"Whether you go for a young one like a Ben Godfrey or someone like [Kalidou] Koulibaly. I don’t know, it’s difficult."
Arsenal head coach Arteta is confident that the club hierarchy will provide the funds to bring in the necessary players in the transfer window.
"I am encouraged that we are on the same page, and that we are going to try to do our best to evolve the team," he told Sky Sports before Arsenal's 3-2 win over Watford.
"First of all the players we already have here, if there is anything extra to help them more and give them a better environment, and then, if we go into the market and we have to do things, to decide which ones to do and how quickly we can do them.
"We are completely ready for that, and I also have a really good understanding with [technical director] Edu.
"We have been working together very closely to put together a plan that we are convinced can be successful.
"But also, it's important to have all the information you need from the team that you have, from the players, from everything. That took some time as well."
