Arsenal Transfer News: Raphael Guerreiro Talks Held, Latest Granit Xhaka Rumours

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reportedly been in "deeper and deeper talks" with Ligue 1 side FC Lorient about signing left-back Raphael Guerreiro.

Per Claudio Colla of TransferMarketWeb (via Alex Harris in the Daily Star), Liverpool are also interested in the Portuguese 22-year-old. However, it's said Arsenal are looking to steal a march on their Premier League rivals, with Lorient reportedly happy to accept an offer of around £6 million as Guerreiro's deal expires in 2017.

Colla's report added that Wenger is "not entirely satisfied" with the Gunners' left-back duo of Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal.

Indeed, Bleacher Report's Dean Jones believes Englishman Gibbs could be on his way out of the Emirates Stadium in the summer, saying Leicester City's Ben Chilwell is also being considered as his replacement:

Guerreiro has been a key player for Lorient this season, appearing in 30 of their 34 Ligue 1 matches, scoring three goals and providing two assists, per WhoScored.com.

Also able to play further forward as a winger, Guerreiro could provide Arsenal with excellent width and likely link up well with the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Alex Iwobi on the Gunners' left flank.

The French-born defender already has a number of appearances for the Portugal national team and is likely to be in Fernando Santos' squad for UEFA Euro 2016 after Fabio Coentrao picked up an injury, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

Wenger will likely be eager to seal a deal for Guerreiro before the summer tournament in France as he could attract further suitors if he puts in some good displays.

Arsenal seem to have already got the jump on Liverpool, and they would do well to snap up Guerreiro as quickly as possible because he has great potential and could be a valuable asset next season.

Meanwhile, Arsenal look to be closing in on the signing of long-term midfield target Granit Xhaka and reportedly expect to complete a deal for the 23-year-old Switzerland international "by the end of the season."

According to the Times' Gary Jacob, the Gunners have already had a £24 million offer for the Borussia Monchengladbach star rejected but have since returned with an offer closer to the Fohlen's £32 million asking price and expect it to succeed. 

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Arsenal are set to undertake a major overhaul of their midfield over the summer with Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky all set to leave the club as their contracts will have expired and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain deemed "surplus to requirements," per Jacob.

Despite his youth, Xhaka has proved himself to be a mature and accomplished defensive midfielder at Gladbach and could be an ideal partner for Francis Coquelin in Arsenal's engine room.

Arsenal have long been weak in the middle of the park, but adding Xhaka to a unit that already includes Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny and Aaron Ramsey could solve those issues.