Arsenal continue to pursue a creative midfielder with around two weeks left of the current transfer window.
football.london understands that the position is a priority for Mikel Arteta ahead of deadline day, with a number of names having been linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium.
The two most prominent players rumoured to be under consideration are Leicester City’s James Maddison and former Arsenal loanee Martin Odegaard.
However, the former’s recent injury history suggests that the Gunners should drop their interest and instead attempt to seal a deal for the Real Madrid playmaker.
According to transfermarkt, since arriving at the King Power Stadium from Norwich City, the 24-year-old has suffered from 10 different injuries.
Whilst this has only seen Maddison miss a total of 13 Leicester matches in the past three seasons through injury, it is damning when noticed that he has not played more than 31 Premier League games in a season since his debut campaign.
Maddison's injury history stretches back even further, having sustained a serious problem during his final game as a Norwich City player. That injury that saw him withdrawn after just 11 minutes, with the midfielder using the whole off-season as recovery time ahead of his move to the East Midlands.
That theme does not appear to be ending any time soon with Maddison having also taken a heavy knock in Leicester’s opening day victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
As per The Athletic, the midfielder was seen holding his hip after a blow, something that also caused him problems last season.
He was then withdrawn after 62 minutes on Saturday afternoon, as a result of the injury as confirmed by Leicester boss Rodgers.
Following the game, he said: "[Maddison] took a whack on his back and he was moving okay but I felt we needed more energy. He'll get some treatment in the morning and we’ll see how he is."
This aspect then could possibly convince Arsenal that Maddison is not quite the right man this summer and the north Londoners may have already made that decision.
football.london understands that the Gunners are set to make a formal offer for Odegaard after he signalled his intentions to leave Real Madrid this summer.
