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Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's daily Arsenal transfer news roundup. Here are the top transfer stories and rumours surrounding the north London giants today.
Gunners emerge as frontrunners in Thomas Lemar pursuit
Arsenal are leading the race to sign Thomas Lemar from Atletico Madrid amid the midfielder's heavy links to Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, Marca has reported.
The France international arrived at the Wanda Metropolitano in a €60 million deal in 2018 but has since failed to meet expectations within the team. The 24-year-old has made only nine starts in La Liga this season and is yet to register a goal or an assist.
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Diego Simeone and his entourage are believed to be preparing for the arrival of Edinson Cavani and are ready to offload Lemar to accommodate the Paris Saint-Germain striker.
Lemar, who will reportedly cost the Gunners around £60 million, is set to be offered an exit route to the Emirates and it remains to be seen how this saga will develop in the days to come.
Also Read: Bournemouth vs Arsenal prediction, preview, team news and more | FA Cup 2019-20
Arsenal turn down Dani Ceballos' transfer request
According to AS, the Arsenal board has turned down Dani Ceballos' request to cut short his loan deal and leave the Emirates amid reports of the midfielder being unhappy with the lack of game-time at the club.
The 23-year-old is yet to feature under Mikel Arteta, with his last appearance coming on November 2nd against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Ceballos is worried that he may lose his place in Spain's squad for Euro 2020.
The Spaniard was believed to have made a plea to Arsenal and Real Madrid to cancel his loan deal at the Emirates but the request has now been rejected by the Gunners board. The hierarchy still believes the midfielder could become an important member of Arteta's first-team set-up and are not keen on losing players in the January transfer window.
Meanwhile, Los Blancos have encouraged the player to resolve the issues at Arsenal instead of forcing a move out of the club.
William Saliba will not return from his loan spell at Saint-Etienne this month
William Saliba will not be recalled from his loan spell at Saint-Etienne this month, reputed journalist David Ornstein has stated. The defender was signed by Arsenal last summer but was immediately sent out on loan to the Ligue 1 outfit for the remainder of the season.
The Gunners were reported to be considering a premature termination of his loan spell in France amid their defensive woes this season but Ornstein has now dismissed the rumours. Speaking on the Ornstein and Chapman podcast, he said,
"Some have suggested to me that Arsenal would like to keep him at the club for the remainder of the season. So that he's ready to go into a new campaign in perfect shape.
"Any hope of Arsenal getting him available to play this season is, we think, unlikely. They would have to probably strike a deal to actually effectively sign him and break the one-year loan."
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