Xeka has made a decision over a potential switch to Arsenal. The Portuguese midfielder has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, having become a free agent after leaving Lille in the summer.
The link comes amid an injury crisis for Mikel Arteta to deal with, having lost both Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny in a short space of time. This led the Spaniard to make a late move for Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz in the market, eventually missing out on his addition.
On the late attempt, Arteta said: "We did business pretty early but unfortunately in the last 72 hours, Thomas [Partey] got injured in the same place he got injured last time and then Mo [Mohamed Elneny] has a long-term injury and we had to react in the market.
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"We tried but at the end of the day, we have to bring the player that we feel is the right player for the team and as well for the club and we didn't manage to do that." While Partey made his return against Brentford at the weekend, there still remains concern about his fitness over the course of the season.
With space left in the registered squad for another potential player, there were plenty of rumours surrounding free agents. 90Min reported that Xeka was one of those on the radar of the Gunners to shore up their ranks.
However, as per Fabrizio Romano, the midfielder has chosen a move to French club Rennes instead. While that may be a blow due to the thin squad, there aren’t many games between now and the January window reopening - due to the World Cup break in the middle of the campaign.
It remains to be seen if the midfield is an area that will be reinforced when the transfer market is open once again.
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