Arsenal Rumors: Arteta Targeting Wantaway Real Madrid Star Who Fits Gunners, Report Says

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants Real Madrid’s Isco in his squad in the next transfer window, a report says.

The Gunners are expected to make certain transfer moves in January, including adding a well-rounded midfielder. Ahead of the January window, Arteta has asked Arsenal executives to greenlight a loan move for wantaway Madrid star Isco, Spanish outlet Defensa Central reported, citing unnamed sources. International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

Arteta is confident that Isco is the type of signing who fits his current Arsenal squad “like a glove” and is another Madrid standout who could possibly be granted continuity with his side like Dani Ceballos, the report said. Though a concrete offer is yet to be made, Arsenal is already figuring out a way to “sign” Isco, according to the outlet.

At the moment, Arsenal’s plan is to secure a loan move first in January which will include an option to buy Isco out from Los Blancos at the end of the season, the report said.

Madrid, on the other hand, is reportedly open to holding talks for the midfielder but not as early as January. Instead, the reigning La Liga champion prefers to negotiate directly in the summer, once the season is over, the report added.

As for Isco, the report also stated that he “is not happy with his situation” at Madrid and is likely to opt-out at the end of the season. The 28-year-old reportedly wants more playing time and is under the assumption that if he continues at Madrid, he might lose his opportunity to achieve his goal.

Meanwhile, Arteta is well aware that Arsenal is not playing its best Premier League season this year. Addressing the club’s mindset at this point, the Spaniard admitted that it will take several transfer windows before the Gunners finally become serious title contenders once again.

"That [will] take a few windows at least to do that," Arteta responded to Sky Sports when asked how long it could take his team to complete such a turnaround. "To establish yourself to compete at the level of certain clubs in this league, which is nearly 100 points, it takes time.”

"In football, time is very precious and people are very impatient,” he continued. “But if you don't respect the processes and you ask certain people to do certain things when the foundations are not there, it's a really dangerous thing to do."

Arteta added that he knows fans are eager to see the Gunners win another Premier League title after 15 years of waiting.

"I know we all want to see Arsenal at the top of the league,” the manager added. “My only intention every time is to prepare the football match. Where we get, time will tell. There's still a lot of things that are going to happen.”