While all preparations are currently in place for Arsenal to commence their preseason tour in the United States, there is still transfer business to be done, and it seems that there is some headway regarding Eddie Nketiah's proposed move to French outfit, Olympique Marseille. Roberto de Zerbi just took over the reins at Marseille after his disastrous spell at Brighton, and following the successful acquisition of Mason Greenwood from Manchester United, the Italian gaffer is keen to get Nketiah in his ranks, especially with the departure of key striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaving Marseille for Saudi Arabia this summer.

According to L' Equipe, Olympique Marseille is preparing a loan offer for Nketiah ahead of a permanent move next summer. One can only hope that Nketiah tears the French League apart like Folarin Balogun at Monaco, and do well enough to make the move permanent. He has been a part-bit player for Arsenal his entire career, playing second fiddle to Alexandre Lacazette, Aubameyang, Gabriel Jesus and most recently, Kai Havertz. Nketiah is currently in the United States with his teammates, but he can always leave at any point during the tour to seal the move to France.

I really hope this move materializes and one would wonder who Arsenal would earmark as his replacement. Maybe the long term plan is to leave Havertz as the de-facto center forward with Gabriel Jesus becoming the new Nketiah.

Elsewhere, transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, and El Confidencial's renowned journo, Kike Marin, have stated that Arsenal is getting very close to seal a deal for Real Sociedad's Mikel Merino. Merino's imminent arrival will see him contend for game time with Thomas Partey and Jorginho, with Declan Rice moving to the left 8 role, which will be an exciting prospect. Jorginho is at the September of his career and still has something to offer, while Partey might just be a Saudi Arabia move away with one year left on his deal and Arsenal unlikely to offer him a new contract.

Selling Nketiah and bringing on Merino will be regarded as fantastic business for Arsenal, which has been the current theme in recent seasons for Edu Gaspar and the negotiation chums.

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