Arsenal are edging closer to the exits of two first team players as Edu attempts to reduce the size of their squad, football.london understands. The Gunners have brought in Fabio Vieira, Marquinhos, Matt Turner, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko this summer which has left them with a large group of players that Mikel Arteta has admitted he is keen to trim down.
"We have a large squad," the Spaniard said last month. "We have to make some decisions on the players that we're not going to be using consistently and be fair and straight with them and that's a process that is going to start very soon as well. We have to, and now we have to make things happen."
Nuno Tavares, Arthur Okonkwo, Charlie Patino and Flo Balogun have all left the squad on loan while Lucas Torreira joined Galatasaray in a permanent move earlier this week. Now it seems as though more are set to follow.
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football.london understands that the Gunners are in talks with Monza over a move to take Pablo Mari on loan for the rest of the season, although it has not yet been confirmed whether an option to buy will be included in the deal. The Spaniard spent the second half of last season on loan with Udinese and has publicly stated a desire to return to Italy this year.
"It's the right league for me," he said earlier this year. "Very tactical. I try to bring the attacker towards me. I really like having the ball and here it can be done and then there is the battle and I like having a battle on the pitch."
Meanwhile Runar Alex Runarsson is attracting interest from Turkey over a potential loan move, with Antalyaspor understood to be among the clubs interested. At time of writing though football.london understands that there is still a way to go before a deal for the Iceland international can be completed.
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