Arsenal Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Nabil Fekir, Morgan Schneiderlin, More

Reported Arsenal target Nabil Fekir has claimed that he won’t be making a move to the Emirates Stadium if he's expected to sit on the bench.

The Lyon star has dazzled this season at the forefront of a vibrant, entertaining and effective team, turning in a string of performances that will have naturally caught the attention of some of the continent’s most illustrious names. But the 21-year-old told L’Equipe (h/t Harry Sherlock of Goal.com) that he’s content where he is at the moment:

"

With all the great players at Arsenal it would be difficult for me to get a place in their team. You never know what might happen.

But I don’t want to leave Lyon too early and end up sitting on a sub’s bench somewhere. I love to play. I am not happy if I don’t get games.

"

Claude Paris/Associated Press

It’s an admirable stance from a player who has burst onto the scene this campaign and could easily become wrapped up in his own hype.

Fekir’s link-up play with Alexandre Lacazette has been magnificent this season, and as noted by WhoScored.com earlier in the campaign, the youngster is one of the most creative talents in the division:

It’s easy to see why the Gunners might harbour an interest. Fekir is the kind of intricate, incisive talent Wenger as always targeted during his distinguished career, and the Arsenal manager will feel as though he remains malleable enough to refine further as he's only 21.

Here’s a closer look at some of those attributes:

Encouragingly, Fekir seems to be a level-headed young man. Lyon seem is on a rapid ascent at this juncture, and he’s a player at the heart of that. As such, he’ll continue to play a key role should he stay, and that’ll only serve to further cement his reputation as one of the game’s most exciting young playmakers.

There are areas of this Arsenal squad that are in much more pressing need of addressing anyway, perhaps most notably the base of the midfield. So you suspect the Emirates faithful will be encouraged by reports suggesting that Morgan Schneiderlin remains one of Wenger’s primary targets.

David Vincent/Associated Press

According to the Mirror (h/t Will Giles of Metro), Arsenal will test Southampton’s resolve to keep hold of the midfielder in the summer after they clung onto their prized asset in the mid-season window.

As noted by Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe earlier in the season, the prospect of Schneiderlin slotting in at the heart of this Arsenal team is a tantalising one:

Indeed, the Frenchman would be a superb acquisition for the Gunners. His ability to knit the play together at the nexus of this Saints team has been a critical facet in their charge for European football, and it’s no surprise the club have toiled without him in the team of late.

Michael Steele/Getty Images

Arsenal are definitely in need of some steady defensive players too, as we can see here courtesy of Squawka:

Schneiderlin might cost a sizeable amount, but there are few players on the continent who’d be better suited to seamlessly fitting into this Arsenal side. Not only does the Frenchman boast the defensive instincts to add some fortitude to what can be a flimsy Gunners midfield, he’s well acquainted with the arduous, unforgiving nature of English football.

That’d be a major positive for the Gunners, and while Wenger has splashed big the in the previous summer windows to bring in effervescent, exciting attacking players, to go into next season without an upgrade in holding midfield would be extremely naive on his part. Consequently, he must go all out to land Schneiderlin.