Arsenal Want Isco in January – A Subpar Stop-Gap

Arsenal Want Isco ‘Now’

A story that first emerged as somewhat opportunistic has now gathered enough pace to be worthy of serious contention. As the Spanish outlet have stated, Arteta’s desire to sign the midfielder in January is no joke. He wants him ‘now’.

So too do several of the ‘main teams’ in Europe who are all monitoring the situation, one that appears inevitable to end up with Isco donning a different kit come next month.

Sevilla are in the running and deemed as Isco’s first choice, primarily as he can be close to his native Malaga, where his family lives. Overall, his preference is to remain in La Liga, and ideally under Julen Lopetegui.

The winter window opens on Friday 1 January, with Arteta stating after the victory over Brighton that two positive results will not succeed in altering his approach in the transfer market. A creative midfield addition is still desired.

Isco is by no means the only option Arsenal are pursuing, having seen Dominik Szoboszlai already scribbled off the list and Houssem Aouar‘s case unlikely to be reopened until the summer. Norwich’s Emi Buendia is also among those mentioned.

Gaining traction by the day, a loan bid for Isco is seemingly Arteta’s ideal stop-gap option. Real Madrid want to sell in the summer to help balance the books, with a fee of €20m (£18m) ($24.5m) said to be the desired figure. It’s stated that Sevilla remain the frontrunners prior to Arsenal’s official bid, as they would be willing to fork out the $7m salary ahead of paying the transfer fee in the summer.

Arsenal only want a six-month loan deal with no purchase option, which will be part of negotiations with Madrid not just in the coming weeks, but indeed right now. If Arsenal had to buy him at the end of a short-term deal, where would that leave them? If they do secure a loan, would it be a wise move?