Manchester City defender Oleksander Zinchenko is expected to join Arsenal for around £35million at the start of next week after more positive talks on Saturday.
Personal terms are not expected to be a problem for the Ukraine international who will become Arsenal’s fifth summer signing and their second from City following the £45m arrival of Gabriel Jesus.
His departure will accelerate City’s bid for Brighton defender Marc Cucurella.
Zinchenko has previously shown a hesitancy to leave the Etihad Stadium but is now ready to take his talents to north London.
Sportsmail revealed Arsenal’s interest in May and he is valued at around £35m by City. The two clubs are now close to thrashing out a deal, with an announcement expected early next week.
Arteta is keen to bring in Zinchenko given he is capable of playing at both left back and in midfield.
Zinchenko will provide additional versatility within the squad as they hunt for a return to the Champions League, having narrowly missed out to Tottenham last season.
Speaking from their pre-season base in Baltimore, Arteta is keen to rule nothing out heading into the new season, eager to wipe the slate clean for everyone in his squad.
‘The message is: this is a different season and everybody has a clean start,’ he said on Saturday.
‘Show us what you can do on the pitch, how you’re going to behave with your team-mates, are you going to make the car faster – yes or no?
‘If you do you have a chance to be here… for me to send a different message to the group was to be very, very inconsistent with what we demand.
‘Show us what you can do on the pitch, how you’re going to behave with your team-mates, are you going to make the car faster – yes or no?
‘If you do you have a chance to be here… for me to send a different message to the group was to be very, very inconsistent with what we demand.
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