Arteta makes feelings clear about Maddison as Arsenal get creative in pursuit

Mikel Arteta is not giving up on Leicester City star James Maddison as Arsenal look to sign a creative midfielder this summer.

The Gunners boss has made it clear that he is a 'huge fan' of the English midfielder as multiple reports suggest he is personally driving the potential transfer.

Arsenal were initially put off by Leicester's asking price of £60million for their prized asset and turned their attention elsewhere, as a result.

The North London club looked into making Martin Odegaard's loan move permanent after impressing during the second half of the season, but he is set to fight for his place at Real Madrid under new boss Carlo Ancelotti.

The Gunners were then in the running for Emi Buendia who the club had scouted for some time, but the Argentinian ended up joining Aston Villa from Norwich City for £25million.

But Arsenal have always retained an interest in Maddison given Arteta's admiration for the midfielder and it seems the move could be back on the cards as the club think of creative ways to orchestrate a deal.

The Daily Mail claim the Emirates club are willing to offer several fringe players as makeweights including Reiss Nelson and Ainsley-Maitland Niles to make the price more manageable for Maddison.

Leicester are notoriously shrewd negotiators, however, as they held out for £50m for Ben Chilwell, who went to Chelsea, and also raked in £80m for Harry Maguire as Manchester United smashed the transfer record for a centre-half.

The Foxes believed Maddison was a £100m player last summer as Man Utd tracked the playmaker, but after an injury-hit season, his value has dipped over the last year or so

After Maddison was left off England’s Euro 2020 squad, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers backed him to find his form in the upcoming Premier League campaign.

He said: "The one thing you can control as a football player is your fitness.

"There are things in the game you cannot control if you’re a player, you can’t control the tactics the manager chooses, what position you play in, but you can control your mentality and your fitness."

"This will be a great summer for him to get back. He’ll be able to get to that level of fitness that’s required, and when he does that, you’ve seen the level he can play his game."