Earlier this summer, there was a brief flurry of discussion that Arsenal were about to seal a deal for Sporting Clube de Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho. A transfer, though, never materialised, perhaps out of Sporting's desire to get more money for Carvalho than Arsenal were willing to pay.
Now, according to O Jogo, Sporting's president Bruno de Carvalho (no relation) is willing to accept a lower fee of around €30 to €35 million, perhaps also in installments, which makes the deal look far better for Arsenal. However, part of that is down to Sporting's willingness to take two of the following four players either permanently or on loan: Yaya Sanogo, Serge Gnabry, Francis Coquelin and Ryo Miyaichi.
That seems somewhat too good to be true. Arsenal have been looking to ship off Francis Coquelin for two summers, and Ryo Miyaichi is a non-entity at this point, though in the Portuguese League he'll probably see his value skyrocket and secure a Mendes move to Valencia. The first two names, Sanogo and Gnabry, Arsenal would likely not want to include: Gnabry is currently injured, and if he moves on loan he should go to a Premier League side, while Sanogo is now needed with Olivier Giroud's injury.
If reports are indeed true, this would be a good signing for Arsenal, providing more flexibility and quality in the midfield. If such a move does come to fruition, it is likely dependent on Arsenal beating Besiktas tomorrow night.