Arsenal transfer ‘awaits’ Real Madrid star after Alonso sack as White to Everton stance becomes clear | OneFootball

A transfer to Premier League side Arsenal now ‘awaits’ for Real Madrid starlet Arda Guler after Xabi Alonso was sacked, according to reports.

The Gunners are having a great season with Mikel Arteta leading them to first position in the Premier League, while they beat Portsmouth 4-1 over the weekend to move into the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Arsenal are 14 points clear of fourth-placed Liverpool and six points ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa, who occupy second and third place respectively.

Mikel Arteta was heavily backed in the summer transfer window as the Arsenal board gave him the funds to make eight new signings with the Gunners looking to end a run of three consecutive second-placed finishes to finally win the Premier League.

There have been rumours that Arsenal could enter the transfer market in January to get them over the line and Arteta revealed their plans for the winter market at the end of December.

When asked if there is space for another defender in his squad, Arteta said: “Depending on the availability of certain players, so the window is there.

“I mean, we’re Arsenal and we have to be looking at it like, ‘OK, What do we need?’

“And we have to be actively looking, and then can we do it or not. That’s a different story, but our job is to be always very prepared because something can happen, so hopefully very positive.”

When pushed on how he will assess whether that’s needed, Arteta added: “We’re going to be really aware of the situation and the timescale of certain players. Going from the front line then to the back line, that’s the depth that you need, and when you look across the other clubs as well, they have 24, 25 squad players.

“The thing is that although we have more injuries than expected, some of them not avoidable I would say, but we want to be better and we know how important the part of having the right availability of players it going to play in this season.”

One player who could be on their way to Arsenal, maybe more likely in the summer, is Real Madrid attacking midfielder Guler after Alonso’s sacking at the Bernabeu.

The Turkey international was a favourite under Alonso after being given a bit-part role under previous manager Carlo Ancelotti and Spanish website Defensa Central claims that a move to Arsenal now ‘awaits him’ in the summer.

Arsenal are ‘considering him as a possible signing for next season’ but Guler now ‘waits to see what Arbeloa does with him’ before making an exit decision.

The report adds: ‘If he doesn’t play, he could request a transfer in the next summer window, but it’s important to note that Alvaro Arbeloa’s future at Real Madrid beyond next summer will depend on the team’s performance in the coming months. The manager knows very well that he has to turn the team’s situation around, and that if he doesn’t, he’ll have little chance of staying on.’

Ben White has been linked with a January move to Everton in recent days but Football.London ‘understands that even if Everton’s supposed admiration for White is genuine – this remains unconfirmed at this stage – Arsenal have zero interest in offloading the player this month’.

The report adds: ‘Mikel Arteta’s side are currently focused on continuing the momentum they built during the first half of the season and weakening their squad this winter is just not an option.’