Arsenal expect to complete loan deals for Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe this week with three Championship sides still in the race for the highly-rated striker.
Bristol City, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday made the final 'shortlist' in the hotly contested race to take Nketiah on loan and the clubs are believed to have made their pitches to Arsenal and the 20-year-old prior to last night's FA Cup third round against Leeds United, the club where Nketiah spent the first half of the season.
Arsenal received offers from several more suitors for Nketiah once it became apparent that he would be returning from Leeds. Several notable clubs were discounted from the race including Championship high-flyers Brentford because it was felt they could not offer him the regular starts that both the player and parent club crave.
There was also interest from Germany in Nketiah's services as there was for Smith Rowe, another of the brightest prospects in the Arsenal academy who is set to depart this month.
football.london understands that Arsenal have received loan offers from clubs in both the Premier League and Championship for Smith Rowe. The club's transition team are still compiling a final shortlist will present a final trio of clubs to the 19-year-old tomorrow.
It is also understood that deals could be in place for both in time for the weekend's round of fixtures.
Bristol City remain favourites for Nketiah's signature having missed out to Leeds in the summer; in the months between then and now the Robins continued to make their case to both Arsenal and the player's representatives.
Nketiah changed agents before departing Leeds and has now joined the same agency that represents Arsenal team-mates Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka, among others, and his representatives have been thorough in their examinations of the remaining clubs in the race for their signature.
One issue that it is understood to have stood against Bristol City previously was their ability to consistently create chances. Though Lee Johnson's side rank seventh in goals scored in the Championship this season they are 21st in terms of shot creation and, according to Experimental 361, are dramatically outperforming their expected goals tally.
Such is the granular level of detail Arsenal and their players are prepared to go into in mulling a move that could prove vital to the young striker's development. Ultimately their priority is that both Nketiah and Smith Rowe get regular starts, ideally up to 20 over the second half of the season.
Neither player was involved in the matchday squad for Arsenal's 1-0 win over Leeds, though speaking before the game Smith Rowe offered a glowing assessment of the impact Mikel Arteta had had on the squad.
"He's boosted a lot of players' confidence," he said. "We're all so happy that he's here. He's been here, he knows what it's like.
"We're all just smiling every day, the whole environment has changed and we're just so happy he's here."
Arsenal are also prepared to sanction the departure of Shkodran Mustafi this month if they can find a club willing to sign him either on loan or permanently.
