Arsenal have reportedly asked for Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic in exchange for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

• Oxlade-Chamberlain could leave as he’s yet to sign a contract extension
• Matic’s Chelsea future is also in doubt due to the imminent arrival of Tiemoue Bakayoko
• Swap deals never happen

Chelsea are one of the clubs said to be monitoring Oxlade-Chamberlain after the midfielder rejected a contract extension at Arsenal.

In a bizarre twist, reports claim that Arsenal would be willing to let him go to Chelsea, provided they received Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic in return.

How this benefits Arsenal is beyond me.

Matic is a decent enough midfielder, and Arsenal do need a midfielder.

However, Arsenal are looking for replacements for Cazorla, not another defensive player. Moreover, Matic has nowhere near the same versatility that Oxlade-Chamberlain has.

Arsenal would be losing cover for several positions to sign a player that barely strengthens just one.

If there’s one rule you can generally count on during the transfer window, it’s that swap deals never happen, no matter how mutually beneficial they appear on paper. And this one doesn’t even do that.