Arsenal are looking for a surprise swoop to bring Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City to north London.
Gundogan, who was Pep Guardiola's first signing in English football, has just captained Manchester City to a fifth title in six years – but is yet to commit his future to the Eastlands outfit. The German is out of contract this summer and at 32 years old, is at a crossroads in his career.
But Arsenal have a recent history of poaching City stars from Guardiola, having brought in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko last summer to aid their surprise title run this term. Now, they could repeat the trick with Gundogan.
The Athletic are reporting that there is "concrete interest" in Gundogan from Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, who worked with the midfielder during his stint as a coaching assistant under Guardiola.
football.london, meanwhile, notes that one of Arteta's key midfielders from his tenure thus far, Granit Xhaka, is close to agreeing a deal with Bayer Leverkusen after talks with the Bundesliga outfit. Gundogan could well be seen as a direct replacement for the No.34 in the left-sided midfield role of Arsenal's 4-3-3.
Gundogan would be a signing that would offer a direct replacement in terms of leadership for the Gunners, while at his age, he could likely slow down over the coming years as Arsenal bring through younger midfielders.
It is believed that Arteta is also looking at Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo and Mason Mount – all three of whom could play in the same area of midfield, with the former two and Gundogan capable as a lone No.6. It's probable that Arteta's shortlist consists of all four, with two likely to join.
Another two midfielders could well leave this summer, too. Albert Sambi Lokonga and Charlie Patino are both on loan at different stages of their development – but both may be offloaded this summer.
Gundogan is valued at €25 million by Transfermarkt.
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Arsenal are ready for a huge summer, with their wage structure set to loosen in the advent of reaching the Champions League once more. Declan Rice remains the priority target.
Five first-teamers are expected, with RB Leipzig defender Mohamed Simakin, Real Madrid star Ferland Mendy, former academy graduate Yunus Musah and two more Manchester City stars all rumoured. Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace, Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid and N'Golo Kante of Chelsea have all been linked.
Three more contracts for existing Gunners could also be tied up in the coming weeks.
