Thomas Tuchel gives Arsenal the red light on key Mikel Arteta transfer target

Chelsea had the opportunity to solve Arsenal’s problem with Arthur Melo as Juventus will only let the Brazilian midfielder leave if they can secure a replacement first

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

The video will auto-play soon8Cancel

Play now

Premier League title race: Man City maintain healthy lead at top

Thomas Tuchel has denied Arsenal the opportunity to make their first signing in January.

The Gunners are running out of options as multiple targets slip out of their grasp including Dusan Valhovic and Bruno Guimaraes.

The former is set to snub Mikel Arteta’s men in favour of a switch to Juventus while Newcastle are set to hijack their move for Lyon star Guimaraes who is on the verge of completing a £30million move to Eddie Howe’s men.

Another player who could elude the Spaniard is Arthur Melo who Arsenal have been tracking closely in the current window.

The North Londoners have run into problems on the financial side of the deal despite the fact it looked promising at first after the player’s agent had a productive meeting with sporting director Edu.

Arsenal have offered to take the midfielder on loan until the end of the season, but the Italians would like an option to buy inserted in the deal – something the Gunners are against as a permanent transfer is out of the equation.

Another sticking point is that Juve would be more inclined to let Arthur leave if they had a replacement through the door.

Chelsea had the opportunity to solve that problem with the Italians eyeing up Ruben Loftus-Cheek who could have been sent out on loan for more game time.

But Tuchel has opted to keep the Englishman as he is expected to stay at Stamford Bridge until the end of the season, reports The Athletic.

This window has not gone according to plan for Arteta in the slightest as he is yet to make a signing despite their desperate need for reinforcements in midfield and at the top end of the pitch.

Vlahovic was at the top of the shortlist with Arsenal willing to pull out all the stops to get a deal over the line, but the Serbian doesn’t seem convinced with the Gunners as Juve had a bid accepted by Fiorentina.

Luka Jovic was quickly identified as an alternative on a short-term basis, but Karim Benzema’s injury has thrown a spanner in the works as Carlo Ancelotti now wants to hold on to the striker.

Arsenal still have time to make quality additions but time is running out with less than a week until the window closes.

But Arteta has gone on the record to say they won’t buy players just for the sake of it.

“It’s what we planned, but the market is difficult, it’s complicated,” the Spaniard said.

“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.

“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.”