Arsenal decide on next two signings with Martin Odegaard loan agreement close
Arsenal: Arteta hopes for better second half of season
Arsenal are set to continue spending this month as Mikel Arteta looks to make several tweaks to his squad before the window closes. The Spaniard was told to focus on outgoings before weighing up potential incomings and now the Gunners have cleared the decks.
Sead Kolasinac has returned to Schalke on loan while Mesut Ozil is heading to Fenerbahce having not featured since last March.
Arsenal also reached an agreement to terminate Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ contract after two-and-a-half years at the club.
Young defender William Saliba also joined Nice while goalkeeper Matt Macey completed a switch to Hibernian on a free transfer.
The Gunners are now closing in on their first addition of the winter window in the form of Real Madrid playmaker Martin Odegaard.
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A loan agreement is reportedly close with Arteta set to work with Norwegian for the second half of the season.
Arsenal are set to beat Real Sociedad to the deal and the Basque club were determined to bring their former player back to San Sebastien, where he flourished last season.
Yet should technical director Edu get the deal over the line, the spending is unlikely to stop there.
According to Football.London, Arsenal also want to sign a goalkeeper and left-back this month.
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Arteta is looking to fill the voids left behind following the departures of Kolasinac and Emiliano Martinez to Aston Villa.
The Argentine put Leno’s place under threat following a fine run of form last season but Arteta decided to cash in on his services.
Alex Runarsson has not been up to scratch since he arrived from Dijon for £1.5million though last summer, as Martinez’s replacement.
He has endured a tough time between the sticks and fumbled in Riyad Mahrez’s free kick in a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in his last outing in December.
The performance highlighted that Runarsson wasn’t quite ready to be Arsenal’s No 2 shot-stopper.
Instead, he is likely to be demoted to third choice with Arsenal also open to a loan deal if they can bring in another goalkeeper this month.
Brentford’s David Raya is a player the club tried to sign last summer but Bees boss Thomas Frank will not let any of his key stars leave mid-season as they target promotion from the Championship.
At left-back, Arsenal intend to bring in an assured deputy for Tierney, who recently struggled with a calf problem. It would ease the pressure on the former Celtic man at full-back, although Bukayo Saka can slot in if required.
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