Arthur Melo To Arsenal Impasse Linked To Crucial Sticking Point

Arthur Melo’s loan move to Arsenal is yet to be agreed…

Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo’s proposed loan move to Arsenal has hit a snag in recent weeks with both sides unable to agree on the length of the deal, Football London’s Chris Wheatley reports.

Mikel Arteta has been vocal about the need to strengthen in midfield this month due to the likes of Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny going to compete at AFCON.

Those needs were exacerbated by yet another Granit Xhaka red card which saw the midfielder suspended for two games. Such was the manager’s luck, Partey returned from AFCON earlier than expected and also picked up a red card, ruling him out of the drab draw against Burnley.

Now, with the team heading to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp as well as time to recuperate, Arteta will still feel he’s always one incident away from a crisis in midfield.

The club has been extensively linked with Brazilian international Arthur with the former Barcelona man finding minutes hard to come by in Turin.

Conveniently, the 25-year-old has started the last three Serie A games since rumours of our interest was widely reported.

However, a deal that seemed so simple has yet to materialise due to a sticking point on the length of the loan. According to Chris Wheatley, Arsenal want a straightforward six-month loan until the end of the season, with no further commitments.

The former Serie A champions would like an 18-month loan deal, with an option to buy attached.

It remains to be seen if they can come to a common ground and whether or not increasing the loan fee will get the deal over the line.