Arsenal: Mikel Arteta addresses Houssem Aouar transfer rumours
With the transfer window closing in less than a week’s time across Europe, time is running out for Arsenal to make any further additions to their squad.
The Gunners have already made five permanent signings this summer: Gabriel Magalhaes, Willian, Pablo Mari, Cedric Soares and Runar Alex Runarsson, while William Saliba has joined following his loan spell at Saint-Etienne.
However, Mikel Arteta is still looking to strengthen key areas of his squad, particularly in the centre of midfield. He may also seek to move on one or two fringe members of the group.
Here is your round-up of Arsenal transfer rumours for Thursday October 1.
New hope on Aouar transfer
Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar is said to be Arsenal’s number one transfer target and the club president Jean-Michel Aulas has hinted a deal could be done.
The midfielder is open to joining the Gunners but Aulas says the north London outfit must be quick.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is hoping for more signings before Monday's transfer deadline (Image: GETTY)
"From Friday evening, when Rudi [Garcia] will choose his squad vs Marseille, there will be no departures," Aulas said.
"We could see ourselves lose two players."
Aulas had previously taken to Twitter to say: "For Houssem, Arsenal is much too far from his value: we count on him to make a big game in Lorient and lead OL in Champions League next year."
Torreira tipped for Spain move
One player who does appear to be on his way out of Arsenal is midfielder Lucas Torreira, who is reportedly closing in on a move to Atletico Madrid.
However, while the central midfielder will be cleared from the wage bill, the move is reported by Goal.com to be a loan agreement rather than a permanent switch.
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Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has entered the final nine months of his Arsenal contract and the club are said to be keen to offload him before the transfer window closes.
A report from Football Insider outlines that the central defender had an offer to join newly-promoted Fulham but rejected the opportunity.
Rob Holding, David Luiz, Kieran Tierney, Willian Saliba, Callum Chambers and Shkodran Mustafi are all ahead of Sokratis in the pecking order.
Fulham are in the market for a new defender after shipping 10 goals in their opening three matches.
Arsenal are trying to sign Lyon star Houssem Aouar (Image: GETTY)
Gunners prioritise exits for funds
If Arsenal are to add any more players this transfer window they will first need to offload squad players, report the Evening Standard.
A number of players could end up leaving the Gunners in the next couple of days, with Lucas Torreira - to Atletico Madrid on loan - and Sead Kolasinac - on a permanent move to Bayer Leverkusen - the most likely deals to happen.
Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi and Matteo Guendouzi are other players who have been told they can find new clubs by Arsenal’s hierarchy.
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