Arsenal are preparing for further negotiations with Juventus as they aim to thrash out a January transfer for Arthur Melo, according to reports in Italy.
The Gunners made contact with Juve earlier this week over a loan deal for the Brazil international, 25, to address their midfield crisis.
Mikel Arteta is without the services of Africa Cup of Nations participants Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny, while Granit Xhaka tested positive for coronavirusprior to his suspension.
This left Emirates chiefs scrambling for a solution midway through the winter window, and they settled on Arthur as a short-term option.
However, Juventus are will not part ways with Arthur unless they are able to sign a replacement with similar attributes, as they do not want to be left short of options in the second half of the season.
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That is according to GOAL Italia , who claim Arsenal officials will meet with the Juventus hierarchy on Monday or Tuesday for further talks.
Arthur has spent the season on the fringes under Massimiliano Allegri but he made his 13th appearance by starting Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Udinese in Serie A.
The former Barcelona star was taken off at half-time with a yellow card with a suspected knock following a heavy challenge from Udinese right-back Brandon Soppy.
Speaking ahead of kick-off, Allegri demanded a creative and disciplined performance from Arthur, something he has struggled to produce since his arrival in the summer of 2020.
“I expect a lot from Arthur this evening, above all spread the passes, to move the ball around and get the team moving,” the Juve boss told Sky Sport Italia , per Football Italia .
“I know he tends to like moving around the midfield, but I asked him to stay in place and make the team move.”
Despite the 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Paulo Dybala and Weston McKennie, Allegri was far from impressed with the performance.
The Italian accused his players of switching off following their crushing Supercoppa Italiana defeat in midweek, during which Alexis Sanchez scored a last-gasp winner for Inter Milan.
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“We held out mentally and technically for 120 minutes on Wednesday, but there was a moment tonight when we just left the game,” Allegri said.
“That’s not right, we always have to be fully focused, especially when there aren’t enough fans to keep us on our toes, because for 10 minutes we ran some big risks.”
Juventus are fifth in Serie A after a disappointing start to the season which leaves them eight points behind leaders Inter having played two more games than the Nerazzurri.
Arsenal set for fresh Arthur transfer talks but Juventus are standing firm on demand
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