Arsene Wenger Talks Aleksandr Golovin Interest After Arsenal vs. CSKA Moscow

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger left the door open to possibly make a move for CSKA Moscow's Aleksandr Golovin by saying the midfielder is "a very interesting player."

Speaking after the Gunners' UEFA Europa League clash with CSKA on Thursday, Wenger was asked directly about ongoing links to the 21-year-old, and he did nothing to quash the rumours, per Josh James on Arsenal.com: "Golovin is a very interesting player and had an outstanding game tonight. We are not in transfer mode, I would say I could not see one bad player on CSKA Moscow tonight."

The Gunners were given a scare by the Russian side at the CSKA Arena. They went into the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash with a 4-1 lead from the first leg, but the hosts cut the aggregate score to 4-3 with goals from Fedor Chalov and Kirill Nababkin in the first 50 minutes.

KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/Getty Images

A 75th-minute goal from Danny Welbeck eased the tension for the Gunners, though, and Aaron Ramsey's late strike meant Arsenal claimed a draw on the night.

But Wenger conceded it was a nervy 90 minutes, per James:

"CSKA made my heart beat much quicker than I expected it to be. I wish them good luck for the rest of the season...

"I feel that maybe we were a bit surprised by the intensity and not at the races in first half and after that you come back. They scored the second and even then they had another chance to make it three. Then we were a bit on the ropes but we had a good response, we were better organised because our distances were too big in the first half. From then on we always looked like we could come to 2-2 because we missed many chances."

Golovin impressed over both legs. He netted a fantastic free-kick at the Emirates Stadium and played a key role in CSKA's second on Thursday.

Per WhoScored.com, he has all the attributes to become a top-class central midfielder:

The Russia international could act as a replacement for the long-injured Santi Cazorla at Arsenal, or even fill Jack Wilshere's boots should the England international leave the Emirates this summer.

Per Charlie Watts  of Football.london, Wilshere is currently in a contract dispute with Arsenal and has been heavily linked with a move to Everton.