Arsenal are in contact with a club captain about joining them via his representative, as manager Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen a key area of the squad.
Arsenal face losing Thomas Partey and Jorginho in 2025
Arteta faces a very realistic imminent future without midfield veterans Thomas Partey and Jorginho, who are both out of contract at the end of this season as things stand.
Arsenal approach Champions League club over signing "monster" 21-year-old
The Gunners want to know more about a potential January agreement.
1 ByEmilio GalantiniJan 10, 2025
Partey, after a very difficult 2023/2024 campaign at N5, has battled his way back into the Arsenal first team – starting the vast majority of Premier League games as either a midfielder or makeshift right-back.
Tottenham (home)
January 15
Aston Villa (home)
January 18
Wolves (away)
January 25
Man City (home)
February 2
Leicester City (away)
February 15
The £200,000-per-week Ghanaian could be in his final months as a Gunners mainstay, though, with Jorginho potentially about to join him out of the Emirates Stadium exit door when their current deals expire on June 30.
Unless Arsenal decide to agree fresh terms with either player, Arteta faces being left very short in midfield for the 2025/2026 campaign, prompting reports that they’re looking at alternative midfield options.
There are even some suggestions that Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz is back on Arsenal’s radar, after the club failed with an array of bids to try and prise him away from Aston Villa in 2022.
More interesting names will likely emerge throughout January, with Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini in their thinking.
The £105,000-per-week Italy international has been linked with a move to the Emirates as far back as nearly six years ago, as reports in 2019 claimed Arsenal were targeting Pellegrini as a replacement for Aaron Ramsey.
The midfielder can play both in the centre and further forward as a CAM, akin to Martin Odegaard, so he could potentially bolster two key positions in one fell swoop. Pellegrini is also out of contract in 2026, and Roma are open to selling the 28-year-old despite his status as captain.
Lorenzo Pellegrini in contact with Arsenal over joining them
According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, via Giallorossi.net, Pellegrini is in contact with Arsenal over potentially joining them via his agent.
The former Sassuolo star is said to be up for sale, but a transfer is deemed more likely in the summer. That being said, if fellow suitors Inter Milan include Davide Frattesi in a part-exchange for Pellegrini, then that deal could well happen before February 3.
Arsenal also face competition from Antonio Conte’s Napoli, who are in dialogue with Pellegrini’s camp alongside the Gunners.
“Pellegrini has had 6-7 scoring opportunities in the last few games. What does that mean? That he moves like a god, that he is well, that he runs a lot, that he has a fantastic spirit and does not hide,” said former Torino boss Ivan Juric, now at Southampton, last October.
“He has not scored and it is a shame. He has had important opportunities, he hit the crossbar. I see him in training, he never backs down. It can be a negative moment for him, even in the national team everything he tries goes wrong.
“But working as he is doing, as a true captain, he will get there. I see a player to whom Spalletti gives the number 10 shirt. I am convinced that he will unlock himself.”