Arsenal 'lining up £34m bid for Ismael Bennacer'

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has been keen to strengthen in central midfield this summer, after completing the signings of Gabriel Jesus, Matt Turner, Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira earlier in the window.

Leicester City's Youri Tielemans has been linked the most, with the Belgian having entered the final 12 months of his contract at the King Power Stadium in recent weeks, and Arteta is said to be a huge admirer of the Belgian.

However, an alternative to the 25-year-old has emerged, with Calciomercato reporting that Bennacer is being targeted by Arsenal should they fail to secure the signature of Tielemans.

The report suggests that a €40m (£34m) offer is being lined up to test Milan's resolve for the Algeria international, who have already lost fellow central midfielder Franck Kessie to Barcelona on a free transfer during the current window.

Bennacer was part of the youth teams at Arsenal between 2015 and 2017, before the 24-year-old moved to Empoli for a fee of less than £1m in August 2017.

Milan swooped to sign the midfielder back in 2019 for around £14m though, where he has gone on to make 105 appearances for the club across all competitions during his three-year stay so far, including 31 in Serie A during the 2021-22 title win.