According to Football London, Arsenal are set to complete the signing of Hertha Berlin’s Omar Rekik in January.
The Gunners were close to securing the signature of the Tunisian defender in the summer, but they ran out of time. That forced them to hold onto William Saliba as well, who was close to leaving on loan.
Arsenal are set to lose three centre-halves for nothing next summer. Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz will all be free agents at the end of this season.
The Gunners’ academy is also in the middle of a revamp. Per Mertesacker is spearheading the recruitment process behind the scenes, and if the report is to be believed, he is the driving force behind this deal.
Mertesacker convinced Rekik to join Arsenal
The report reveals that Mertesacker has promised Rekik that he will be given a chance to impress in first-team training. That has convinced the teenager to agree to a move, which will be completed once the January transfer window starts.
Rekik, still only 18, has had a wild ride in his career so far. He represented Feyenoord, Manchester City and Marseille at youth level before signing for Hertha Berlin in the summer of 2017.
The fact that he didn’t make it at the other big clubs is a concern, but if Arsenal are really interested, they must have seen something in him.
The Gunners have done well with respect to signing players people haven’t heard of. Gabriel Martinelli proved to be a real star last season, while Matteo Guendouzi, his attitude problems aside, is an exceptional talent.
If Rekik can get anywhere near their level, he will give Mikel Arteta a headache. The Arsenal boss has shown that he isn’t afraid to play the youngsters in big games, which will give the young Tunisian the incentive he needs to perform when he joins the club in January.
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