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Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's Arsenal transfer news roundup!
Mikel Arteta will be in charge of the squad for the first time this afternoon as Bournemouth host the Gunners at the Vitality Stadium on Boxing Day. Besides a shakeup in the team's training routine, the Spaniard has wasted no time in identifying some areas of improvement and a couple of potential players the club could bring in.
The 37-year-old is said to be interested in signing two defenders and a central midfielder in the upcoming transfer window. As January approaches, let us look at the latest rumours surrounding the club.
Mikel Arteta wants Granit Xhaka to stay
According to Guardian, Arteta is keen on keeping Granit Xhaka in the team rather than sell him this January. After falling out with the fans in October, Xhaka was stripped of the armband and tipped to leave Arsenal in the upcoming transfer window.
In recent days, the Swiss midfielder has been linked to a possible return to Bundesliga and German clubs have been keeping a tab on him. However, it appears that the new Arsenal manager wants him to stay and has even heaped praise him.
On the 27-year-old, Arteta commented,
"When I was going from Arsenal to City to start coaching and we were looking in that position, he was one of the players on my list."
“This is how much I liked him. I was happy when Arsenal signed him because I thought he was going to be a terrific player."
Arsenal hoping to sign Adrien Rabiot on loan
Since his free transfer to Juventus, Adrien Rabiot has made just nine appearances in Serie A and is severely underutilised by Maurizio Sarri. As a result, the Gunners are looking to tempt Rabiot to North London to strengthen the team's midfield.
A report from Times states that Arteta is eager to make the midfielder his first signing at the club and the 24-year-old could join Arsenal on loan. Before his move to Turin, the French international played for Paris Saint-Germain where he made over 200 appearances and scored 24 goals in total.
Gunners contact Kalidou Koulibaly over a possible deal
Arsenal have been long-term admirers of Kalidou Koulibaly and once again, rumours are surrounding the club and the defender. In a transfer window podcast by Ian McGarry, the Gunners are said to have made contact with Napoli through a third-party regarding Koulibaly.
The 28-year-old joined Napoli in 2014 and is currently the vice-captain of the Serie A club. In need of a stronger defence, Arteta could turn to Koulibaly who has loads of experience playing on the big stage.
