Arsenal wanted Idrissa Gueye but the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder is still set for an emotional move back to Everton.
The Gunners have been dealt a couple of blows in midfield ahead of the transfer deadline.
Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny have both picked up injuries, with the latter expected to be out for a while now.
That leaves Mikel Arteta a little short of midfield depth and Arsenal could make moves in the transfer market before tomorrow’s deadline.
A move for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Leandro Paredes has reportedly been snubbed, and it’s a similar story with PSG teammate Idrissa Gueye.
Arsenal wanted Idrissa Gueye
The Daily Mail claim that both Arsenal and Chelsea have made ‘late advances’ to try and sign Gueye from PSG.
Both clubs seemingly wanted a proven and experienced Premier League midfielder to offer depth, but the London duo are set to miss out.
It’s stated that even though Arsenal and Chelsea have made moves for Gueye, Everton have won the race for his signature.
The report claims that Gueye is signing a two-year deal at Everton having been told that he was free to leave by Paris Saint-Germain boss Christophe Galtier.
Everton have been chasing Gueye for weeks now and there have been a couple of false dawns, with a move seemingly close before stalling.
It now seems that Everton do have their man this time though and Gueye has allegedly said goodbye to teammates ahead of rejoining Arsenal.
Gueye, 32, joined Everton from Aston Villa back in 2016 and spent three successful years at Goodison Park before being snapped up by PSG for £30million.
The Senegal ace now wants to rejoin Everton and is ready to snub approaches from both Arsenal and Chelsea to make the move happen.
Arsenal may have viewed Gueye as a combative, Premier League-ready, experienced midfielder to fill Elneny’s role in Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Yet whilst Arsenal can offer a top four race, that emotional pull seems to have won it for Everton.
We would imagine that Gueye was just one of a number of options Arsenal were considering after Elneny’s injury.
There have been links to many midfielders since that injury news emerged and Gueye would have been a cheap option.
Gueye would have likely been a squad player at Arsenal, he could play a key starting role under Frank Lampard at Everton.
Gueye has been in and out at PSG, so playing regularly for Everton – a club he has a real connection to – may have just made more sense for him right now than moving to Arsenal.
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