Arsenal initiate contact over potential winger signing – Player has agreement to leave his club

The Italian media today has some very interesting claims regarding the situation of Stephan El Shaarawy.

According to journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, the player found an agreement with his club Shanghai Shenhua so he can be loaned to an European side at least until January.

The report says several clubs have initiated contact with his staff, including Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint Germain.

Di Marzio makes it clear that none of these negotiations are advanced, since clubs are only probing the ground for now.

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The reason for this loan is that following his time with the national team, El Shaarawy would have to stay in quarantine for two weeks once he gets to China.

That means he could only play the final two games with Shangai Shenhua this year. There’s then a break and the league resumes in 2021.

That’s why the club will let him go on a loan until January, so he can stay in good shape elsewhere. But the report claims that this move could become a longer spell or even a permanent transfer.

Perhaps a short loan wouldn’t make a lot of sense for Arsenal, but in case of a permanent move, the winger could find a place in the Gunners’ squad.