Arsenal have reportedly been dealt a massive transfer blow by former manager Unai Emery, whose Aston Villa side are closing in on a £50m deal for one of the Gunners' reported midfield targets.
With Mohamed Elneny leaving as a free agent, Albert Sambi Lokonga about to join Sevilla on loan and Thomas Partey potentially following suit in the coming weeks, Arsenal have been expected to pursue a new defensive midfielder ahead of the 2024-25 season.
As Declan Rice excelled in a box-to-box role last season, Partey and Jorginho would rotate in the number six slot, and the latter has signed a new one-year contract extension to stay on the books until 2025.
However, the former Chelsea man is not a long-term solution in that position, and while Rice is a competent option as the deepest-lying midfielder, Arteta is planning to keep using him further forward thanks to his success in 2023-24.
Former targets Bruno Guimaraes and Martin Zubimendi are not attainable - the former will not leave Newcastle United for less than £100m, while Zubimendi has ruled out an exit from Real Sociedad - so Arsenal were said to have turned their attention to Everton's Amadou Onana instead.
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Aston Villa 'finalising' agreement for Arsenal-linked Onana
Reports last month claimed that the Gunners had made contact with Everton over a move for the Belgium international, who would have been a more affordable option than Guimaraes at £50m.
However, Arsenal have seemingly conceded defeat in their pursuit of Onana, as The Athletic claims that Emery's Villa are now on the verge of bringing him to the West Midlands.
The report claims that the two clubs are now thrashing out the final details on a £50m agreement, and the "enthusiastic" Onana has already given the green light to a long-term contract at Villa Park.
Onana had apparently been earmarked as a "key target" by Emery, who memorably endured an ill-fated spell as Arsenal boss from 2018 to 2019, being sacked just over a year from his appointment as Arsene Wenger's successor.
The former Lille man - who was also tracked by Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United and Newcastle United - will step into the shoes of another ex-Gunners target Douglas Luiz at Villa Park following the Brazilian's exit for Juventus.
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Everton were supposedly hopeful of garnering at least £60m and up to £70m through Onana's sale, as Lille stand to receive 20% of any profit made on the €35m (£29.5m) that they received for the 22-year-old's exit in 2022.
Onana, who represented Belgium at Euro 2024, will leave Everton with a record of four goals and three assists from 72 games in all competitions, including two strikes from 30 Premier League games last term.
Arsenal are running out of midfield options
Onana's imminent move to Villa represents another painful midfield blow for Arsenal, who have been rejected by Zubimendi and Luiz as well as being priced out of a move for Guimaraes.
Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich is still thought to be of interest to the Gunners, but Arteta is now being tipped to pursue Real Sociedad's Mikel Merino, who is more of an eight than a six.
As a result, Partey staying beyond the end of the summer window cannot be ruled out, but the Ghana international only has one year left to run on his contract, leaving Arsenal at risk of losing him for nothing after shelling out £42m to sign him from Atletico Madrid.
Ben Knapton
