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Arsenal are weighing up moves for Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling or Bayern Munich's Kingsley Coman having been approached about both in the final two days of the transfer window.
Sterling, who has been told he will not play under manager Enzo Maresca, would be keen on the move but any deal would require Chelsea settling part of his contract and wages.
Mikel Arteta wants an explosive player to give Arsenal more options in attack, but the top target of Nico Williams wants to stay in Spain to achieve his long-term ambition of eventually joining Barcelona.
The London club are consequently only willing to go for one of their secondary options, on a much lower budget, in the mould of Leandro Trossard's signing.
The primary concern to have a player that can ease the burden on Bukayo Saka, as Arteta is acutely conscious of overplaying his star in a packed calendar and a schedule that is going to see a game every three days once this international break is over.
Arteta does have a strong relationship with Sterling from their time together at Manchester City, when the Basque was assistant to Pep Guardiola.
Although there have been questions over whether the 29-year-old can be as explosive as he used to be, Arteta likes his personality and feels he can be a good influence on the squad, especially with his winning record. Sterling also has an understanding of Arsenal's tactical approach, given its similarity to City's.
The club are unwilling to pay a fee for Sterling, though, which is why any deal could be complicated and require the player to settle his contract issues with Chelsea. He is understood to be on £325,000 a week at Stamford Bridge, and Arsenal would be unlikely to go above £150,000. Sterling would have to accept fitting into their wage structure.
Manchester United have similarly been in talks with Chelsea over Sterling, with new sporting director Dan Ashworth also an admirer from his time with the Football Association. Any deal is seen as a “long shot”, though.
Coman has, meanwhile, been offered around the major European clubs for weeks, as Bayern Munich attempt to trim their wage bill. Arsenal have been weighing up a deal but there is a feeling that the market could open up in the final hours, due to the number of big clubs who want to sell. There is a belief that this could bring bargains that would not have been possible even a few weeks ago.
