The end of the January transfer window is shaping up to be a busy one for Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta.
In what has proven to be a relatively quiet window so far in England, with finances tight because of the coronavirus pandemic, Arsenal have been the Premier League's busiest club, involved in no less than six deals, which is soon expected to rise to seven.
The Gunners have signed highly-rated centre-back Omar Rekik on a permanent deal from German side Hertha Berlin whilst goalkeeper Mat Ryan has joined the club on loan for the rest of the season from Brighton & Hove Albion.
In terms of departures, five players have left the club this month, as Arteta aims to reduce the size of his squad and cut-back on the clubs outgoings in a financial sense. Goalkeeper Matt Macey, centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Mesut Ozil have all left the club on permanent deals whilst William Saliba and Sead Kolasinac have been shipped out on loan for the remainder of the season.
Saliba has returned to his native France, joining Nice, whilst Kolasinac has returned to former club Schalke.
With less than a week of the window now remaining, Arteta is still keen to add more new faces to his squad, most importantly a central attacking-midfielder and a left-back.
It is understood that the Gunners, who face Southampton for the second time in the space of just four days this evening, are close to signing Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard on loan for the rest of the campaign, with the Norwegian having been convinced by both Arteta and Dani Ceballos, who is on loan at Arsenal from the La Liga giants, to join the north London club.
Once Odegaard's arrival is completed, Arsenal will still be keen to add a left-back to their ranks, with Arteta eager to add some competition for Kieran Tierney on the left side of the defence.
In the last few days, Arsenal have been closely linked with moves for Southampton's Ryan Bertrand and Tyrick Mitchell of Crystal Palace.
However, according to a report by French newspaper L'Equipe, the Gunners are keeping a watchful eye on Marseille defender Jordan Amavi.
The 26-year-old Frenchman is out-of-contract with the Ligue 1 club this summer and could be allowed to leave in a cut-price deal.
As things currently stand, Amavi, who has sampled a taste of Premier League football in the past, playing for Aston Villa between 2015 and 2017, is yet to sign a new deal in France, meaning the Gunners could see him as an ideal short-term option to act as cover for Tierney.
Arsenal, though, are not the only club in the race to sign Amavi, with Crystal Palace and Italian side Napoli also keen.
Pablo Longoria - Marseille's head of football - has been in continuous talks with Amavi's representatives about a new deal but those discussions are going nowhere, suggesting he could be allowed to leave for a transfer fee before the window closes, opposed to running the risk of losing him for free in the summer.
In addition, there is still an outside chance that the Gunners could swoop for Norwich City ace Emiliano Buendia as well before the window closes.
