Shock Arsenal stance as first-choice midfielder included in bid for AC Milan star

Suraj Radia

• 26 Nov 2022 17:28 GMT
• 2 min read

Arsenal are considering a shock move to bolster their midfield by selling one of their key starters in order to bring in a former player.

The Gunners are looking to build on their impressive first half of the season which sees them lead the Premier League by five points after 14 games.

Mikel Arteta has largely played with the midfield pair of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka but Arsenal are still considering bringing in another player to add to the depth in the side.

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Mohamed Elneny is in the final year of his contract and sidelined with a long-term injury, leaving Albert Lokonga as the only real backup to Arteta’s starting pair.

However, reports in Italy have claimed that Arsenal are looking to bring in Milan’s Ismael Bennacer in a player-plus-cash move that could see Partey go the other way.

The surprising transfer could be in addition to Arsenal’s chase for a forward, with Shakhtar’s Mykhaylo Mudryk still top of the club’s shopping list going into January.

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Bennacer could leave Milan after entering the final 18 months of his contract and CalcioMercatoWeb believe Arsenal could offer €20 million plus Partey for the 24-year-old.

The Algerian spent two years at the Emirates between 2015 and 2017 but signed for Empoli having failed to make an appearance with the Gunners, before joining Milan in 2019.

The Serie A outfit have so far failed to reach an agreement on a deal with Bennacer and Italian report claims that Arsenal director Edu Gaspar is preparing a ‘super offer’ for him.

However, despite the prospect of Partey being included in the deal, Milan are believed to only want cash for their star midfielder and have set his asking price at €60m.

Partey has been in excellent form for Arsenal this season but there are still doubts over his fitness record, with the 29-year-old having missed 14 games In both of his previous two seasons with the Gunners.

Sanctioning a mid-season departure for one of Arteta’s key players looks unlikely and the club may look to instead move for Youri Tielemans, who could be available on a cut-price deal as he will be in the last six months of his contract at Leicester.

Palmeiras midfielder Danilo is also a long-term target for Arsenal, meaning they may have to wait until the summer to pursue any interest in bringing Bennacer back to the Emirates.