Arsenal have reportedly received a boost in their pursuit of Arda Turan as Barcelona are said to have informed the midfielder that he can leave in January.

Turan, along with Aleix Vidal and ex-Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen, have been told they can leave Barcelona in January, claims Sport.

The Catalan giants are allegedly trying to free up some funds in order to sign Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho and offloading some of their lesser-used players is one way to do it.

Turan is reportedly a long-term Arsenal target, which means we’ve supposedly received a boost with the news that he could be available.

The midfielder signed for Barca from Atletico Madrid in 2015 for €34m and has three years left on his current deal. However, the 30-year-old has struggled for game time.

He’s yet to feature for the La Liga side this term. The official line is he’s been sidelined through injury, first with a back problem and currently with a metatarsal bone bruise.

The Turkey international has only made 23 starts since his move from Atletico and, considering his age, you have to imagine that he’ll be looking to move to a team where he can get more game time.

However, according to the Daily Mail, this isn’t the case; apparently, it’ll be hard to push the midfielder to move. This is despite reports in October claiming that he was demanding a move to Galatasaray.

Turan has also been linked with a move to China.