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Arsenal are keen to bolster their midfield ranks in the January transfer window, and their next acquisition may have been three years in the making. The Gunners have been linked with former Wolves star Ruben Neves, who has long been admired at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta improved his central midfield significantly during the summer transfer window as part of his major reshuffle. The Gunners forked out £105million to acquire the services of Declan Rice from West Ham, with the England international viewed as a future captain in north London.
Arsenal also took a risk in purchasing Kai Havertz from Chelsea, despite his underwhelming spell at Stamford Bridge. The German international has similarly struggled to find his best form with the Gunners but his versatility has proven useful, being deployed as a No 8, on the wing and also as a makeshift No 9.
Injuries have prompted Arteta to push for his side to dip back into the transfer market for further midfield reinforcements though, with Thomas Partey ruled out for several weeks and linked with an exit in January. According to talkSPORT, the Gunners are set to push for Al Hilal midfielder Neves in January and are hopeful of hijacking Newcastle’s move.
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Arsenal have been heavily linked with the Portugal international over the past three years and sporting director Edu was desperate to lure him away from Molineux during that time. However, the Gunners never managed to strike a deal with Wolves during that time and ultimately will now need to negotiate with Al Hilal.
Newcastle are also keen on Neves and have identified the 26-year-old as the ideal replacement for Sandro Tonali, who will miss the remainder of the season due to a ban for breaching betting regulations prior to his move to Tyneside. Eddie Howe’s side are only pushing for a loan move, content that they can bolster their ranks more aggressively at the end of the season.
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Interest Fund (PIF) owns the Magpies and Al Hilal so it was thought a surprise loan might be green-lighted because it would strengthen Newcastle’s push to qualify for the Champions League again and provide further exposure for the Saudi Pro League.
However, it is unclear whether the move would be allowed as Premier League clubs are set to vote on whether they believe that loan moves between two sides owned by the same person or group will be allowed. The outcome of that could be the difference between Neves joining the Magpies or Arsenal.
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