Mikel Arteta is looking to make Adrien Rabiot his first signing at Arsenal, hoping to bring the Juventus midfielder in on loan in January.

The Times report that Arteta is keen to bring in Rabiot when the transfer window opens next week. The new Arsenal head coach is keen to strengthen his midfield options.

Julien Laurens of ESPN claims (via Express) if Granit Xhaka leaves, Arteta will need to find another left-footed midfielder to fill the Swiss international’s current role in the team. Arsenal see Rabiot as a player who fits that profile.

Rabiot is only up to seven starts for the season in all competitions at the midway point in Italy. Juventus’ last two league games were the first two he completed 90 minutes in consecutively. Even if he is working his way into the team, it’s taking longer than expected.

Perhaps Arsenal could give the former PSG man a way to build his minutes and get back to his best in the second half of the season. They’ll want to buy themselves some time to sort out the midfield situation properly this summer.

The media linked Rabiot to Arsenal plenty of times before he left PSG. In the end, though, the Gunners focused their transfer funds elsewhere on the pitch. The first half of the season could convince them to give the midfield more thought now.