Arsenal boss Arteta plotting Serie A double swoop with midfielder and winger on radar

The African Cup of Nations is now less than three weeks away, and the tournament is already threatening to play havoc with the Premier League season. 

A number of the division’s biggest stars, including Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Edouard Mendy, are all set to miss out on up to a month of Premier League action, with teams at both ends of the table likely to have players leave.

Now, it appears that Arsenal are already planning ahead for the month-long tournament, which could see Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey both travel to their native continent.

According to Spanish outlet Marca, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is eyeing a double swoop of Italian side Juventus, targeting a midfielder and a winger to bolster his squad for the second half of the season.

The report states that Arthur Melo and Dejan Kulusevski are on the club’s radar, with both players potentially available next month.

Kulusevski has started just four Serie A games this season

The Brazilian midfielder has struggled for game time of late, playing just 101 minutes so far this term, and could look to force a move away from Turin when the window opens on New Year’s Day.

The former Barcelona man would add valuable experience in Arsenal’s midfield, especially with Elneny and Partey both potentially travelling to AFCON.

As well as Arthur, Kulusevski is also being considered as a useful attacking threat.

Club record signing Nicolas Pepe has found himself out of favour of late, and Kulusevski could therefore be targeted as attacking reinforcements.

The Swedish international joined Juventus in the summer of 2020 but, 18 months on, he is also struggling for game time and could look for a move elsewhere.

The report does also suggest that former Gunners star Aaron Ramsey could even make a sensational return to North London, having played just 98 minutes for the Italian side this season.

Juventus are reportedly considering terminating his contract and allowing him to leave for free.