Arsenal ‘make contact’ with Real Madrid star over loan move

This could be quite the deal!

19-year-old Arda Guler arrived at the Bernabeu in 2023, hailed as one of Europe's most talented youngsters, but he has failed to break into Carlo Ancelotti's first team.

According to reports in Spain, the Gunners, who sit nine points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, have contacted the former Fenerbahce star.

So far this campaign, Guler has only started three matches across all competitions, predominantly coming on as a late substitute for Ancelotti's side.

The starlet has also failed to register a single goal contribution from his 12 appearances so far, despite performing well for Turkey on international duty.

According to Spanish news outlet Sport, Guler is unhappy at Madrid and has attracted interest from several European clubs.

It is claimed the Gunners are one of the teams to have contacted Guler's representatives, as they are keen to secure his talents first on loan before signing him permanently at a later date.

The Gunners deployed a similar strategy when signing Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid in 2021.

Sport reports that Arsenal see similarities in Guler's situation to that of Odegaard's when they approached him.

Odegaard, who also arrived in the Spanish capital with bags of potential, struggled for game time just like Guler, and was frequently loaned out to clubs including Heerenveen, Vitesse and Real Sociedad before joining the Gunners.

The 25-year-old has turned out to be one of the biggest success stories at the Emirates.

It won't be easy for Arsenal though, not only have other clubs showed an interest, the Spanish publication claim that despite him being unhappy, he has not yet given up on his Real Madrid future yet and wants to succeed at the club.

Unfortunately any deal Arsenal make will have to be done without sporting director Edu who is on gardening leave for six months after announcing his shock departure earlier this month.

Jason Ayto has stepped up to replace Edu on an interim basis while the Gunners search for a successor.