Chelsea winger Willian has said that he is keen to stay in London amid talk of joining Arsenal this summer.
The Brazil international is out of contract at Stamford Bridge when the 2019/20 season ends, meaning he could make his final domestic appearance for the Blues in next weekend's FA Cup final against the Gunners.
That's unless the 31-year-old reaches an agreement to extend his stay in west London.
However, with each passing day it would appear that Willian is closer to the exit door than being part of Blues head coach Frank Lampard's squad for the 2020/21 season.
That would be great news for Arsenal and this week ESPN Brazil claimed the Gunners are optimistic that they are in pole position to sign the attacking midfielder this summer.
In a boost to those hopes, Willian has gone on record saying his preference is to remain in the capital.
"I have played for Chelsea for more than six years now, and I can honestly say that I am very happy here," he wrote in a column for The Players' Tribune back in February.
"If you ask my wife if she wants to leave London, she'll say no. My daughters feel the same way.
"Of course, Brazil is Brazil, right? It's our home, our culture. We always feel good when we go there on holiday and see family and friends, but London is my second home.
"In fact, I recently passed a British citizenship test. Man, it was hard. It's British history in a nutshell. Some questions are so difficult that not even some of my British friends knew the answers!
"As it turned out, I failed on my first two attempts, but got it on the third. I am now a British citizen!
"So, London is where I want to stay. This is where I have my family, my church. I want my daughters to grow up here."
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has appeared to call on Raul Sanllehi and Edu to target a creative player in the transfer window to help his side progress next season.
"Look at the players that we had in the past at this club in those positions," he told Sky Sports. "You go back to (Santi) Cazorla, to (Tomas) Rosicky, to (Andrey) Arshavin when he played there, to (Aaron) Ramsey when he played there, to (Henrikh) Mkhitaryan when he came in. Even Jack Wilshere used to play in those pockets all the time.
"That is a lot of players who are now not here. We have to renew that cycle, because if not, those kind of players won't be there for us anymore.
"They are a big part of what any squad needs."
Could Willian be Arsenal's new transfer mission? He is likely to be available on a free transfer which does suit the club's financial situation.
