Another report: Arsenal "confident" of landing Granit Xhaka

Flip the "Days Since Arsenal Linked in a Transfer Deal" counter back to zero. ESPN FC have joined the ranks of news outlets reporting that Arsenal are targeting Swiss and Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka.

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

The report states that the Gunners are feeling positive about their odds to land Xhaka, ahead of other clubs, such as Liverpool, in the summer. The article states that Gladbach want £34 million and Arsenal only want to pay £30 million. What's £4 million between friends?

This report was written up by Peter O'Rourke, a freelancer for the site. To my knowledge, he does not have a reputation for reliable Arsenal connections and reporting. You may recall, he did not make my list of most reliable British sources of transfer information.

It seems unlikely Mr. O'Rourke has any high level Arsenal sources, but at this point, Arsenal's interest in the midfielder has become common knowledge. It seems possible he could have actual sources speaking out more than they typically do due to this situation. Chalk this one up as "more smoke but no concrete evidence of a fire." (h/t to Ben for that phrase)