Arsena l's hopes of signing Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo are set to be quashed by north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners have been chasing Arthur for much of the January transfer window, but Mikel Arteta is likely to miss out on the Brazilian in bitter fashion.
That is because Tottenham are on the verge of signing a Juve midfielder of their own, Rodrigo Bentancur, with the Bianconeri unlikely to let Arthur also leave.
Mirror Football understands that Arteta had sold the 25-year-old on his Arsenal vision, with the player's agent even flying into London for talks with technical director Edu.
But Juventus are wary of leaving themselves short in the midfield department and instead, the Gunners are the team that will suffer, having been desperate reinforcements this month.
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Juve are involved in a double deal with Spurs, as Bentacur will be followed by winger Dejan Kulusevski.
While Kulusevski's arrival is an initial loan, Tottenham are hoping to secure his Uruguayan teammate for £15.7million, plus add-ons.
The two players were notably signed by Fabio Paratici when the Spurs managing director of football worked for the Bianconeri.
Antonio Conte 's side look to have beaten Aston Villa in the race for Bentancur, as Steven Gerrard is said to have been eyeing the former Boca Juniors star.
Meanwhile, Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri is hoping to to sign Borussia Monchengladbach 's Denis Zakaria as a replacement before Monday's deadline.
The Serie A side offered £5.8million for the highly-rated Bundesliga star, who is set to fly to Italy once the of his move details are finalised.
Arteta has been open about his club's transfer business this month, admitting after Arsenal's limp 0-0 draw at home to Burnley before the winter break: "It's what we planned [January business], but the market is difficult, it's complicated.
"We knew that, but it's a lot to manage and we have to make the right decisions with players that we believe are going to really help us and try to bring in ones that can take us to the next level.
The Gunners boss added: "We are certainly trying, but I don't know if we're going to be able to do it. Let's see, it's not only our intention, but a lot of facts that are needed to happen.
"Players that come here have to be able to take us to the next level. We already have a level, and we want to see much better standards than we already have, and that is how we're going to recruit.
Having been out of favour under Allegri this season, Arthur's agent Federico Pastorello said last month: "Keeping a player of this level on the bench is a shame.
"For January we can't exclude anything: there's interest from La Liga clubs, but also from Premier League and Serie A."
