ARSENAL are confident of securing Oleksandr Zinchenko as their fifth signing of the summer after agreeing a £30million fee with Manchester City.
And the arrival of the versatile Ukraine international could end their interest in Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans.
Technical director Edu is currently working to finalise personal terms and contract details with 25-year-old Zinchenko.
The player still wants to know what role he would play at Arsenal and does not want to move if he is only going to be unused as an understudy to left-back Kieran Tierney.
But manager Mikel Arteta believes Zinchenko could also play in central midfield, which is an area of the pitch which has become a cause for concern in recent weeks.
His arrival would take Arsenal’s summer spending to £115million following the signings of Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Marquinhos and Matt Turner.
And though Arteta remains keen on Belgian international Tielemans, Zinchenko’s arrival would leave him with a glut of central midfielders including Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Mo Elneny, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Charlie Patino, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Lucas Torreira.
The move would represent a massive profit for City, who paid just £1.6million when they bought Zinchenko from Russian minnows Ufa in 2016.
