•Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta has confirmed Arsenal are ‘actively looking at options’ following the foot injury to Mikel Merino, which is set to rule the midfielder out for a significant period amid reports linking the club with a move for Newcastle’s midfielder Sandro Tonali.
According to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal are exploring a deadline-day move for Sandro Tonali.
He says Newcastle have rejected an ‘initial approach’ and that it is ‘very difficult at this stage’.
However, BBC Sport’s Ciaran Kelly reported that Newcastle had had no formal contact from the north London club and reiterated that Tonali was not for sale.
The Gunners are actively in the market today, after losing Mikel Merino to a foot injury.
Merino is set to undergo surgery and may not feature again this season, which is a blow to Arsenal fans and manager Mikel Arteta.
Merino has emerged as an important player for the Gunners and in his pre-match news conference before Arsenal’s second leg semi-final tie against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup, Arteta has said that the club are looking at potential replacements.
“We had the news a few a days ago [about Merino’s injury],” said Arteta.
“We are always active in every window. We also had the departure of Ethan [Nwaneri] to Marseille.
“We are actively looking at options,” Arteta added.
“We will continue to do that. If I find a solution, we will do it, and if we don’t, we will continue.
“Of course, when you lose a big player like this in the squad, you need to look and we need to do everything we possibly can to see if there’s a player which is available.”
