Arsenal are reportedly keen on signing Arda Guler, who is struggling for minutes at Real Madrid.
Since arriving from Turkish club Fenerbahce in 2023 he has only played 747 minutes in 24 appearances, 16 of which saw him come off the bench.
The 19-year-old was touted as the next Mesut Ozil but his start to life in Madrid suffered a setback when he picked up an injury.
Unfortunately for the teenager, Jude Bellingham, who was signed for £88.5m from Borussia Dortmund the same summer, got off to an amazing start of the season and solidified the attacking midfield role.
Guler could not display his talents to their fullest for Real but he did for Turkey during Euro 2024 in Germany, scoring an incredible goal during their win over Georgia.
He was a big reason why Turkey progressed to the quarter finals and narrowly missed out on the semis.
He was hailed as the ‘Turkish Messi’ as he became the youngest player to score on his European Championship debut.
But his club career is stalling and Spanish publication Sport reports that Guler is not happy at Real Madrid and Arsenal are willing to make an offer to take the player on loan.
A move to north London for Guler would be reminiscent of Martin Odegaard’s journey to the Premier League.
The 25-year-old initially signed for the club on loan from the Spanish giants in January 2021 due to a lack of game time.
Many fans were not convinced of Odegaard’s talent as he only scored once and assisted twice in 20 appearances.
Nonetheless, Mikel Arteta made the decision to permanently sign the midfielder for £30m during the summer of 2021.
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Odegaard went through trials and tribulations with Arsenal, including their eighth-placed finishes and disappointing Europa League campaigns.
Following the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona in 2022, the side rotated the armband but ahead of the upcoming season named Odegaard as captain.
He led Arsenal through their first title charge in many years but the Gunners came up short. Similar events followed last season as they lost the title to Manchester City again.
In recent times, the importance of their captain has been evident.
Arteta’s side struggled without Odegaard since his ankle injury in September but his return against Chelsea was a sign of good things to come.
Guler will hope he too can wield such gravity within a team, whether it will be at Madrid, Arsenal or another club remains uncertain.
