“We will see”, Arteta said when asked about the goalkeeper. “There is still some paperwork getting done. He had his medical as well mostly done. There is still some things to sort with Sheffield.”

From the Sheffield side, James Shield reported earlier in the week that Arsenal were growing increasingly confident of the signing as they prepare a ‘decisive’ bid. Shield writes for The Star that the club initially wanted as much as £40m, but they’ll now have to accept significantly less to agree a deal.

The exact amount remains unclear. The Star claim it should be in the region of £28m, but they’ve consistently reported much higher figures than on the Arsenal end, where the last bid was reported at £20m. The Athletic claim it will be an initial £24m with an additional £6m in add-ons.

It’s probably safe to assume, as per The Athletic’s figures, the clubs will meet in the middle, particularly when you include add-ons.

Sheffield United manager Slavisa Jokanovic has been clear that he doesn’t want to sell, but it’s not his decision and Ramsdale wanted the move.

Sheffield United played West Brom on Wednesday evening and Aaron Ramsdale was left out of the squad.

Wow ramsdale gone lol https://t.co/k8QbHhnfpD

— ᳆ (@VOYNlCH) August 18, 2021

The Blades went down 4-0 at the Hawthornes, thanks to goals from O’Shea, Mowatt, Robinson and a Sheffield United OG.

After the game, Jokanovic said, “It wasn’t perfect preparation for the game, to lose Aaron so close to it, but we cannot be especially surprised by it.

“It was not an easy day for Michael Verrips.”

Arsenal are hoping they can get all the paperwork done in time to have Ramsdale registered for the game against Chelsea at the weekend.

They also expect to have Martin Odegaard signed in time, after the midfielder was spotted