How Chelsea could be set to stop Arsenal landing loan move for Arthur

How Chelsea could be set to stop Arsenal landing loan move for Arthur How Chelsea could be set to stop Arsenal landing loan move for Arthur

Arsenal step up Arthur chase

Arsenal have been linked to a variety of midfielders so far this January, with just Sambi Lokonga and Charlie Patino the recognised options available to Mikel Arteta at present.

Now, they seem to have stumbled across their man, in the form of Brazil and Juve midfielder Arthur Melo.

The Brazilian came on as a substitute in Juve’s Supercoppa defeat to Inter Milan on Wednesday night, in what may be his last appearance for the club in a while.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners are “pushing” for the midfielder, while the player is “understood to be open to join in case club will find an agreement”.

Arsenal are pushing for Arthur Melo on loan from Juventus. He’s one of the main names in the list. Player understood to be open to join in case club will find an agreement. 🇧🇷 #AFC

Juventus have not accepted yet – they’d need a replacement to let Arthur leave. Talks ongoing.

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 12, 2022

But there is a caveat: Juventus need a replacement.

Chelsea to help out Arsenal?

Chelsea could be set to hand Arsenal their man, however.

As per the reliable Gianluca Di Marzio, Juve will look to bring in Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek as a replacement.

#Calciomercato @juventusfc | L’@Arsenal insiste per #Arthur e i bianconeri guardano a #LoftusCheek del @ChelseaFC https://t.co/62IDz3zbpL

— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) January 12, 2022

The Italian claims:

“In fact, should Arthur (or another midfielder) leave in the end, then Juventus would like to try to give Chelsea’s Loftus-Cheek to Allegri”

And while there are other options, they may prove more costly:

“The two alternatives are Bruno Guimaraes of Lyon and Renato Sanches of Lille. However, these are two very complicated tracks because they would be very expensive operations.”

This means that Chelsea could have a lot of potential power over the future of fellow top 4 challengers Arsenal’s midfield. Will they prove to block the transfer by refusing to sanction a move for Loftus-Cheek?