Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was spotted speaking to AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer amid claims the Gunners want to re-sign him.
The Gunners faced Milan in the Dubai Super Cup on Tuesday, which for the uninitiated… well, they’re just glorified friendless with penalty shootouts bizarrely added on.
Arsenal claimed a 2-1 win with Martin Odegaard and Reiss Nelson finding the net before Fikayo Tomori pulled one back.
Arsenal went on to win the penalty shootout 4-3 and have now claimed two wins from two over in Dubai.
This is all geared towards Arsenal’s Premier League return and making sure players are ready to face West Ham United on Boxing Day.
Yet fans would be forgiven for also seeing a potential transfer impact in Mikel Arteta’s post-match actions.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta spotted speaking to Bennacer
As the two teams exchanged pleasantries at full-time, Arteta was on the pitch speaking to and hugging Milan playmaker Brahim Diaz.
The pair knew each other from Manchester City and then Arteta was introduced to Milan’s former Arsenal midfielder Ismael Bennacer by strength and conditioning coach Sam Wilson.
Wilson served the same role with the Arsenal Under-21’s during Bennacer’s time at the Emirates Stadium, and Arteta may even remember the Algerian from his Gunners playing days.
They certainly trained together at least, as seen in the photo above.
In a video posted by Arsenal fan @iOkmm, Arteta was seen greeting Bennacer and chatting on the pitch.
This is particularly interesting given that rumours have linked Bennacer with a return to Arsenal.
Tuttomercatoweb reported just days ago that Arsenal are ‘above all’ in terms of Premier League clubs who want to sign Bennacer.
Milan want to give Bennacer a new deal until 2027, offering him €4million-a-year – around £66,000-a-week – to stay.
Milan will now hope that Arteta wasn’t sneakily selling Bennacer on a return to North London as they met on Tuesday.
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