Arsenal send scouts to watch Chelsea target as cracks start to show in Mikel Merino plan already

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Arsenal are already planning for the future when it comes to the transfer market. 

Despite Edu Gaspar having resigned as Arsenal sporting director recently, the Gunners will still be working on ways to strengthen their squad in the market. 

Whilst Edu won’t be around to head up negotiations, and oversee the recruitment policy, it is vital that the club continue to plot ways to strengthen Mikel Arteta’s squad. 

Arsenal have needed a new striker for some time, and an acquisition in that part of the pitch will likely be top of the list when it comes to the January transfer window, but that is not the only area in which the club are keen to improve.

• READ MORE: How much Arsenal paid to sign every 2024/25 first-team squad player in the transfer market

Arsenal and Chelsea in race to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi

Arsenal are planning the future of their midfield contingent. With Jorginho and Thomas Partey both in the twilight years of their career, there is a need to line up replacements for the pair. 

Myles Lewis-Skelly offers an internal solution in this regard, and the Hale End academy starlet has started to really establish himself as a first team figure this season.

However, Arteta is also keeping tabs on Ayyoub Bouaddi. According to Caught Offside, Arsenal have sent scouts to watch the Lille midfielder, as have Chelsea, Liverpool, AC Milan, and Juventus. 

Representatives from the Emirates Stadium watched the 17-year-old Frenchman come on as a substitute again Lyon in a Ligue 1 clash, and play 90 minutes against Juventus in a Champions League fixture.

The midfielder has made 11 first team appearances so far this season, having come into the team and impressed last season.

The Arsenal scouts watching Bouaddi will have been struck by his maturity and technical ability.

Mikel Arteta planning for new midfield despite Mikel Merino signing 

Whilst Bouaddi is clearly a target that Arsenal are looking at with the future in mind, the fact that he is also playing regularly for Lille suggests that he could be a signing made to make an immediate impact too.

Arteta has shown previously in his career that he is unafraid to invest his transfer funds and faith in youth, an instinct that he disregarded in order to secure the signature of Mikel Merino in the recent summer transfer window. 

Arteta looked past Merino’s age to bring him to Arsenal, clearly in the hope that he would hit the ground running at the Emirates Stadium. 

However, the 28-year-old has struggled so far this season, and Arteta may now be thinking of reverting to making youth the focus of his recruitment strategy.