Mikel Arteta's dream Arsenal XI with Leandro Trossard…

Mikel Arteta's dream Arsenal XI with Leandro Trossard as Edu closes in on £21m Brighton transfer

Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Leandro Trossard. Edu agreed a fee of £21million plus add-ons with Brighton for the 28-year-old on Thursday and a deal could be announced as soon as today.

The Belgian will arrive at the Emirates Stadium on a deal until 2027 with the option to extend by a further year, football.london understands. Arsenal are thought to be pushing hard to ensure that the player is available for Sunday's clash with Manchester United, although the deal would have to be completed by 12pm on Friday for that to be the case.

Whether the paperwork will be completed in time remains to be seen at this stage, but Trossard has reportedly been at London Colney this morning (Friday) and has already completed his medical, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

“I personally offered Leo to Arsenal," Trossard's agent Josy Comhair told journalist Freddie Paxton after the deal became public. "This is the most beautiful club for him and the football they’re playing suits him perfectly. The deal took 48 hours which shows how much Arsenal wanted him.”

The Gunners are currently top of the Premier League and are five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, although they do have a game in hand. Trossard's arrival will give Mikel Arteta's side more depth and allow the Spaniard to rotate Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, as well as not rush back Gabriel Jesus, who is continuing his rehabilitation after suffering a knee injury at the World Cup with Brazil.

"We have excellent players and we want to improve our squad in this transfer window – when I say we I mean, myself, the coaching staff, the staff players, the board and the ownership – we all want to do that," Arteta told football.london last week. "But we will do the deals we can do and the ones we feel are right for the club."

With a deal for Trossard all but sealed, is there a place for the Belgian in Arteta's starting XI? Here, we take a look at how Arsenal could line up with the 28-year-old in the side:

GK: Aaron Ramsdale

RB: Ben White

CB: William Saliba

CB: Gabriel

LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko

CDM: Thomas Partey

LCM: Granit Xhaka

RCM Martin Odegaard

RW: Bukayo Saka

LW: Gabriel Martinelli/Leandro Trossard

ST: Gabriel Jesus

Arsenal's next signing after Leandro Trossard has already been identified amid £21m transfer