With Arsenal having missed out on a long-awaited Premier League title on the weekend, manager Mikel Arteta is now said to be looking to bring yet another Manchester City player to his team.
The Gunners' EPL title challenge came to a disappointing end after they lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
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However, many have drawn positives from their 2022/23 campaign as they spent 248 days at the summit of the Premier League log, with many of their most influential players being under the age of 25, including Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba.
Among those who have impressed are new signings Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who joined the club at the start of the season. With the former City duo having been relatively successful with their new team in this campaign, Arteta is now believed to be on the hunt for another star from the Etihad.
According to The Athletic, the Spanish boss now wants to sign Ilkay Gundogan, who will soon be out of contract in Manchester if he does not agree a new deal with the Citizens.
The Germany international has no shortage of potential suitors, with FC Barcelona known to be interested in making a move in line with their strategy of acquiring free agents due to their unfavourable financial position.
It is understood that Gunners club captain Granit Xhaka is likely to join Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga in 2023/24, with talks over that deal reported to be at an advanced stage.
This would leave a big void in the middle of the London club's park given that the Swiss playmaker has made 47 appearances so far this season, and Arsenal are hard at work looking for a replacement, with names such as Declan Rice and Mason Mount already on their wish list.
Gundogan's abilities and vast experience are said to be appreciated by Arteta, although it has also been claimed that the 32-year-old could yet sign a new one-year contract extension, with the option of a further season, for Pep Guardiola's side.
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Speaking of the City captain back in February 2021, Arteta gushed over the midfielder's unique qualities, stating: "He's always had the ability to arrive in the box and has great timing and great qualities to finish the actions.
"Before he played a deeper role and he had the licence to do that. He's a tremendous player and he's doing really, really well this season."
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