FLYING HIGH
Arsenal set to announce first January transfer as defender Omar Rekik, 18, flies to London to seal Hertha Berlin switch
ARSENAL are set to announce their first January transfer after Omar Rekik flew to London to seal his move from Hertha Berlin.
The Gunners were strongly linked with the 18-year-old central defender on Deadline Day, with Matteo Guendouzi going the other way.
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But as Guendouzi was shipped off on loan, Emirates chiefs could not get the £900,000 Rekik deal over the line in time, as he instead stayed at Hertha.
It appears now Arsenal have finally got their man, as the centre-half posted an Instagram story arriving in the capital.
Rekik joins the club during an awful run of form, which leaves them 15th with 16 goals conceded in 13 games.
But it is understood the Gunners are eager to loan their new signing to the Bundesliga to gain valuable experience.
Then, according to , part of their appeal is believed to be the opportunity to regularly train with the first team next season.
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Despite being highly-rated, Rekik is yet to make his first-team debut for Hertha.
He has featured on the bench three times, without yet getting on.
Rekik, whose big brother Karim left Berlin for Sevilla in the summer, is instead a regular in the German fourth tier for Hertha's B team.
The left-sided defender is expected to become the seventh Arsenal recruit in the last 12 months to initially play primarily in Per Mertesacker's under-23 side.
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He will follow in the footsteps of Nikolaj Moller, Jon Dinzeyi, Tim Akinola, George Lewis, Joel Ideho and Catalin Cirjan.
Another defender expected to be loaned out in January is William Saliba, one year Rekik's senior.
The former Saint-Etienne man, who cost £27million in 2019, played 36 first-team matches for the French club but is yet to feature in Arsenal's first-team.
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