Reports: Arsenal eyeing Barcelona midfielder to replace Mesut Ozil

What's the story?

CNN Turkey claims that the Gunners are interested in signing out-of-favour Barcelona attacking midfielder Arda Turan as a replacement for Ozil should he decide to call time on his Arsenal career.

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The Germany international is free to leave at the end of the season when his contract expires and has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United which would leave a sizable void in the Arsenal attack.

Heart of the matter

Turan has earned 100 caps for Turkey and he had an impressive campaign with Barcelona last season, scoring 13 goals and providing seven assists in 30 appearances across all competitions, but he’s not fancied by Ernesto Valverde and is yet to feature this season for Barcelona.

Spanish source AS claim that Turan will be looking to leave Barcelona when the January transfer window opens and it appears that Arsenal could be a feasible destination for the former Atletico Madrid man.

What's next?

It would be a blow for Arsenal to lose Ozil, who is still well regarded in the footballing world. There is a chance Arsenal could do what they've done with Alexis Sanchez and knock back any bids, but that would be a risky strategy given how keen the German apparently is to leave. Turan looks likely to leave the Catalan giants.

Author's take

Given the fact that he’s yet to sign a new contract at Arsenal and is showing no signs of even considering doing so, it’s fair to assume that this could be Mesut Ozil’s final season at the Emirates.

Even the most optimistic of fans will admit it's not looking good in terms of Ozil remaining in north London for too much longer.