Arsenal handed Arthur transfer boost but hopes could be dashed by Aston Villa

Arsenal have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Arthur Melo after Juventus submitted a trasnfer bid for a potential replacement.

But the Gunners' Arthur hopes could be dashed if the Bianconeri sell another midfielder, Rodrigo Bentancur, to Premier League rivals Aston Villa.

Juve want to ship out one of the two players before Monday's 11pm deadline but are unlikely to let both go, having not yet secured Borussia Monchengladbach 's Denis Zakaria.

Reports claim that Juventus have offered £5.8million for the highly-rated Bundesliga star, but Zakaria could wait to leave for free when his contract expiries in June.

Gladbach are weighing up the Serie A side's proposal, while Villa themselves made an offer of £16.5m for Bentancur.

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The 24-year-old is wanted by Steven Gerrard 's side, with Sky Italia reporting that the two clubs are not far away from agreeing a fee.

The Bianconeri's asking price for Bentancur is said to be £21m, knowing they must give 30% of the fee received to Boca Juniors due to a clause negotiated when Juve signed the Uruguayan in 2017.

A deal being struck would likely lead to Arthur staying put in Turin and Arsenal being left unable to sign yet another target in the January window.

While Zakaria coming in would fill the void left by Bentancur, Massimiliano Allegri 's midfield would look light if they also let the Brazilian leave for the Emirates.

However, Mirror Football understands that Mikel Arteta has already sold Arthur on his vision for the club, and the 25-year-old's agent reportedly flew into London for talks with Gunners technical director Edu.

Meanwhile - making the situation even more complex - Arsenal could sign Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz as an alternative, who has been the subject of a £30m bid from an unknown English club.

Arteta has been open about the club's transfer business this month, admitting following their limp 0-0 draw at home to Burnley before the winter break: "It's what we planned [January business], but the market is difficult, it's complicated.

"We knew that, but it's a lot to manage and we have to make the right decisions with players that we believe are going to really help us and try to bring in ones that can take us to the next level.

The Gunners boss added: "We are certainly trying, but I don't know if we're going to be able to do it. Let's see, it's not only our intention, but a lot of facts that are needed to happen.

"Players that come here have to be able to take us to the next level. We already have a level, and we want to see much better standards than we already have, and that is how we're going to recruit."