Arsenal Chase Bayern's Goretzka as Merino Injury Sparks Deadline Day Scramble

Arsenal's frantic deadline day search for midfield reinforcement has taken them to Bavaria, with the Gunners making an inquiry about Bayern Munich's Leon Goretzka in the wake of Mikel Merino's extended absence.

Merino is sidelined for the foreseeable future, with Arsenal stating the Spanish midfielder "is expected to be out of action for an extended period, with the aim of returning to full training before the end of the season." The north London outfit are understandably keen to bolster their engine room with four months of the campaign still to play across all competitions.

The Goretzka pursuit represents Arsenal's most concrete move of the window, though Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund has already flagged that the 30-year-old will depart the Bavarian outfit come summer. According to reports, a mid-season switch to the Emirates "at this stage appears unlikely."

The more eyebrow-raising story surrounding Arsenal's search has been the Newcastle connection. Word spread of a shock move for Sandro Tonali, the Italian midfielder currently plying his trade at St James' Park. Florian Plettenberg reported that Arsenal were "exploring a surprising Deadline Day move" for Tonali, though Newcastle swiftly rejected an initial approach.

Nicolo Schira suggested the Magpies were demanding £100m for their prized asset, with Arsenal "really working" on a deal. However, the plot thickened when Ben Jacobs revealed Arsenal had made "no contact" with Newcastle whatsoever. The Athletic's David Ornstein subsequently confirmed this, explaining that Tonali's agent had simply dangled the opportunity in front of the Gunners. "Sandro Tonali offered to Arsenal by agent so Arsenal explored but no contact with Newcastle United; nothing will happen this window," Ornstein wrote, adding that the 25-year-old's departure is "now impossible."

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Chelsea, Mikel Arteta acknowledged the challenge of replacing a key player mid-season. "When you lose a big player like this in the squad with four months to go and all the competitions to play for, you need to look," the Arsenal boss said. "We need to do everything that we possibly can to see if we have a player that is available. And if we don't, we keep what we have."

The manager stressed that any recruit must hit the ground running. "At this level, especially for four months, you have to be a player that has the capacity to adapt immediately and impact the team. That's not easy. But if it were easy, we wouldn't be here. So, we need to find solutions and try."

Intriguingly, Arteta refused to rule out a move for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the 32-year-old free agent who has been training with Arsenal's Under-21s to regain match fitness following his departure from Besiktas last summer. When pressed on whether the veteran midfielder represented a viable option, Arteta simply replied: "We explore every option."

That said, journalist Miguel Delaney suggested Arsenal are "more likely" to stick with what they have, with the club conscious that academy prospect Max Dowman could step up if required. "There's an awareness Dowman can step up," Delaney noted. "They're conscious he has to be managed well at his age, but also looks ready for impact moments."