Inter Milan's Christian Eriksen is on offer to Arsenal as part of a swap deal for Granit Xhaka, according to reports in Italy.
Former Tottenham playmaker Eriksen has struggled to settle since his £17 million move in January and is not currently in Inter's first team. At the same time, Antonio Conte wants to add a more physical dynamic to his midfield.
N'Golo Kante was first choice but Chelsea refused to sell their World Cup winner this summer, so Inter have been looking for alternatives. Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport are reporting that Xhaka is high on that list.
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The report claims that Inter have had people in touch with Arsenal already to gauge their interest and find out if the Premier League club would be willing to add Eriksen to their squad in place of Xhaka this January.
As crazy as it seems that a player who was still at Tottenham earlier this year could be pulling on an Arsenal shirt in a few months, there is actually a lot of logic to the proposed move.
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Eriksen certainly seems ready to leave Inter, telling TV2 in an interview last week: "This isn't what I dreamed of. All players want to play as much as possible, but the coach decides who gets to go on the pitch.
"It is a strange situation, as the fans want to see me playing more and so would I, but the coach has different ideas and as a player I have to respect that.
"Right now it may not be going so well in the club... I am concentrating on my football, then when the transfer window opens we will see if something will happen or not."
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At the same time, while Mikel Arteta has improved Arsenal's performances since taking over, creativity from midfield is an area the Gunners have sorely struggled with. Danish midfielder Eriksen is, if he can regain his best form, an elite creative midfielder who could fill a peak Mesut Ozil-shaped hole.
Xhaka meanwhile has turned around his Arsenal career since he reacted to being jeered by his own fans during a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace last year. That left him "very, very close to leaving the club" as the player admitted - but he's had a renaissance under Arteta and is now a first-team regular.
However, with all respect to Xhaka, an in-form Eriksen is a special talent with a higher ceiling than the Swiss midfielder. So any offer - especially if it is a straight swap - could be very tempting.
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Both players are 28 years old, So neither club loses out on that score. It just depends, of course, if Arsenal are interested and both players are willing to consider the move.
Eriksen certainly seems ready to leave Inter in the transfer window and knows London well. But whether he's consider a move to Arsenal after six-and-a-half years at their biggest rivals is a different matter.
Can you see Christian Eriksen lining up for Arsenal against Spurs in 2021? Let us know in the comments.
All imagery: PA Images
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Internazionale, Football, Serie A, Granit Xhaka, Premier League, Arsenal, Christian Eriksen, Inter Milan
