Arsenal’s £17m offer revealed as Arteta pushes to sign Serie A attacker

Arsenal are preparing a fresh offer for Joaquin Correa that could include Lucas Torreira after seeing an opening £17m bid rejected by Lazio, according to reports via the Mirror.

Mikel Arteta is gearing up for a hectic summer in the transfer market as the Gunners boss knows he needs to overhaul his squad after Arsenal finished eighth in the table and missed out on European qualification last season.

The north Londoners have been strongly linked with a number of defenders and midfielders in recent weeks but Arteta is also in the market for another attacking midfielder after seeing Martin Odegaard return to Real Madrid this summer.

Arsenal had initially hoped to lure the Norwegian back to the Emirates after he impressed during a loan spell last season but it looks like Odegaard will remain at the Bernabeu to fight for his place under new boss Carlo Ancelotti.

That means Arteta is having to look elsewhere as he attempts to add some creativity to his ranks and Correa has emerged as a potential target with reports suggesting that Arsenal are keen to land the Lazio star.

It appears the London giants have formalised their interest as the Mirror are now citing a report from Il Messaggero that claims Arsenal tabled an opening £17m bid for Correa but the offer has already been knocked back by Lazio.

However, the Italian outlet suggests that Arsenal are ready to go back in with a fresh offer that would include Torreira as part of a player-plus-cash swap deal in exchange for Correa’s signature.

Il Messaggero, via the Mirror, says that Lazio are open to the idea of taking Torreria as part of the deal so Arsenal could now get their hands on Correa if they can agree on a fee on top of the Uruguayan international.

Torreira has fallen out of favour under Arteta and spent last season out on loan at Atletico Madrid where he helped them win the La Liga title but Diego Simeone has decided against making the move permanent.

The dogged midfielder is now on the look out for a new club and it appears he could be offered the chance of a return to Serie A having previously enjoyed a spell at Sampdoria before joining Arsenal in 2018.

A swap deal could therefore make sense for all parties and Correa would be a solid signing for Arsenal if they could get a deal agreed. The Argentinean international provided 11 goals and 6 assists in his 38 appearances last season and he can play as a central attacking midfielder or out wide so he’d give Arteta options in the final third.