Arsenal: Arteta has 'window of opportunity' to land £120k-a-week star | OneFootball

Arsenal need to accelerate their plans if they want to lure Leicester City star Youri Tielemans to the Emirates Stadium as they have got a ‘window’ of opportunity, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

Although the Gunners are five points clear at the Premier League’s summit, boss Mikel Arteta will be handed another opportunity to bolster his squad during the January window.

Arsenal transfer news – Youri Tielemans

According to 90min, Arsenal are ready to up the ante in their pursuit of Tielemans and planning to make a bid when the January transfer window opens for business.

The report suggests the central midfielder has already told Leicester that he is not interested in penning a contract extension and, while a number of other clubs are also showing an interest, the Gunners are confident of winning the race in 2023.

Tielemans will enter the final six months of his £120,000-per-week King Power Stadium deal at the turn of the year, when he will be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with overseas suitors.

Arsenal are looking to strengthen their midfield midway through the campaign and the 25-year-old is seen as a potential option to join Arteta’s charges.

Spanish sources have revealed that Barcelona are keen on Tielemans, but they feel he may have already agreed to link up with another club.

That could be Arsenal as journalist Ben Jacobs has previously told GIVEMESPORT that the Belgian’s heart is set on a move to north London.

What has Dean Jones said about Tielemans?

Jones believes Arsenal need to act quickly in case Barcelona head to the negotiating table and look to tie Tielemans down to a pre-contract agreement.

The journalist feels Belgium’s early exit from the World Cup has presented the capital club with an ideal opportunity to open discussions.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “We’ve seen Barcelona swoop and steal quite a few players under Xavi. With that in mind, there might be a window here when Arsenal can actually look to progress things.

“If they genuinely are into the idea of signing Tielemans, they need to get going on it again and actually make it happen.”

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How did Tielemans perform at the World Cup?

The World Cup did not go to plan for Tielemans or Belgium, who saw Roberto Martinez walk away from the manager’s job after their group stage exit.

Sofascore statistics show that the Leicester talisman only registered an average match rating of 6.77 as he failed to register a single goal contribution.

Tielemans was hauled off at half-time during the group stage-opening win over Canada, while he was forced to contend with cameo appearances from the bench in the meetings with Morocco and Croatia as Belgium fell at the first hurdle.

He was unable to produce the kind of form he has in the Premier League this season, having found the back of the net three times and registered a further assist in 15 outings.