Arsenal's transfer relationship is a concern as 'bid lodged' for fifth signing

Arsenal are plotting a move to make Lille winger Edon Zhegrova their fifth signing of the summer transfer window after submitting a bid thought to be worth around £6million.

The Gunners have already secured some key additions, including former Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus and Porto playmaker Fabio Vieira for a combined fee of £75m. Now, reports suggest Zhegrova has caught the eye of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta during his six months in France.

The 23-year-old wide-man joined Lille from Basel in January and hit the ground running in Ligue 1. Zhegrova was born in Germany but soon moved to Belgium to work his way up through the ranks of various academy set-ups. He eventually found himself at Genk, a Belgium club famed for producing a whole host of world-class talent including Kevin de Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois.

Things have moved quickly since the winger made the step up to senior football after making his debut in 2017. Zhegrova made just 27 appearances for Genk before joining Basel on loan in a deal that was turned into a permanent one in the summer of 2020.

Now at Lille, Zhegrova has undeniably shone for Les Dogues but could have his head turned if Arsenal's interest is concrete given the allure of the Premier League. The 23-year-old registered two goals and one assist during his 12 Ligue 1 outings that came at the tail-end of last season, though he was only handed four starts.

Arteta clearly wants some depth when it comes to his wide-attacking options, hence the recently failed pursuit of Leeds United winger Raphinha. Zhegrova fits a similar profile as the Brazilian, with fantastic dribbling ability and is even affectionately dubbed the 'Kosovan Messi'.

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From the Gunners' perspective, the fanbase may harbour some arguably unfair reservations purely due to previous players signed from Lille.

Since 2011, Arsenal have made three notable purchases from the French side with varying degrees of success. The first came in the form of Gervinho, who failed to make the grade with the Gunners and was red-carded on his debut in what was a sign of the kind of disappointing things to come.

The Ivorian is, unfortunately, best remembered for his disastrous open goal miss away at Brentford during a humiliating League Cup defeat. Gervinho spent just two years at the Emirates after his £10m switch before fleeing to Roma for less money than Arsenal paid for him.

Eight years later Arsenal returned to Lille for another Ivorian winger in Nicolas Pepe. The Gunners paid a club-record fee of £72m to bring him to the club, but much like Gervinho, he has spectacularly underwhelmed. Still, on the books of the club, the 26-year-old endured his lowest point of all last season when he produced just one goal in five starts all campaign.

There has been some success, however, with Gabriel Magalhaes joining in 2020 and slotting in seamlessly to the Gunners' backline. The Brazilian international has established himself as one of the first names on Arteta's team sheet.

Costing just £27m, the 24-year-old has been an undeniable success and the Gunners fans will be hoping that if they are to open talks with Lille once again, Zhegrova follows Gabriel's path rather than that of his fellow wingers.