Reports on social media suggest Arsenal are close to signing the French player Kheira Hamraoui from Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais.

The defensive midfielder would bring competition for the number six role held by Dominique Janssen.  She is a tall 1m78, strong and powerful player with an eye for a long range missile.

She recently announced she would leave Lyon and the D1 Feminine to play abroad.

https://twitter.com/kheirahamraoui/status/1003297231577985024?s=19

She is an experienced player, at 28 years old of age, with 35 caps for France. She played for local clubs in the North of France before a four years stint at St-Etienne.

The midfielder then spent four years at PSG, reaching the Champions League final, and was at Olympique for two seasons. In Lyon she won five trophies, including two Champions Leagues and two French League titles.

She should adapt without problem to the rough and physical English game, as she is not afraid to get stuck in. Her short passing is good and her style is fairly similar to Patrick Vieira.

She is well known as an important dressing room player, bringing her infectious ‘joie de vivre’, laughter and a party mood.

With the signing of Schnaderbeck and expected capture of Waelti and Kemme, it looks like Arsenal are going for foreign players on the transfer market, as not many top English players are available.