As South African football recently learned in the Ndoro-gate saga, a player is only allowed to represent two club's per season under strict FIFA rulings.
However, in the case of James, who is currently within his second-season of his loan deal from Real Madrid to Bayern Munich, there is an exception to the rule - which the Gunners are seeking to exploit.
According to reports in English media, Rodriguez, who's fallen out of favour at the Bundesliga giants and Los Blancos has £3m left on his overall £11.5m loan payment, which Unai Emery's side could stump up to lure him to The Emirates for the final six months of the 2018/19 season.
The club's highest paid player Ozil has notably fallen out of favour under the Spaniard and is likely to depart in order to find a more prominent role at a new club - with Inter and reportedly keen on his services in a temporary switch.