Arsenal are interested in bringing James Maddison to the Emirates Stadium this summer...

What's the word?

That's according to football.london, who claimed that the Gunners could consider a move for the Leicester City star before next month's transfer deadline, although they may be priced out of a move.

It has previously been suggested that the Arsenal hierarchy are confident that a £60m deal would be enough to tempt the Foxes into a sale, despite them rejecting a £70m offer last summer, as per the Daily Mail.

Reliable journalist Chris Wheatley tweeted last month that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta "is a huge fan of Maddison and he's certainly a target".

Ozil's true successor?

If Gunners technical director Edu Gaspar can indeed seal a move for the England international, then the north London giants could finally have replaced Mesut Ozil.

The German left behind a considerable void in attacking midfield and one which has only ever been temporarily filled, with Real Madrid duo Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard joining the club on loan across the last two seasons.

It's time for Arsenal to secure a permanent option in the role and there cannot be many better candidates out there than Maddison, especially as he would also kill two birds with one stone thanks to his homegrown status.

[snack-amp-story url= "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-arsenal-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-much-more" title= "Read the latest Arsenal news, transfer rumours, gossip and much more!"]

Injuries somewhat curtailed the 24-year-old's impressive progress last season but that didn't stop him from providing Brendan Rodgers with 11 goals and ten assists across all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

These returns were better than each of Arteta's current attacking midfield options combined, which speaks volumes, whereas Ozil regularly delivered for the club until his final campaign, including a peak return of eight goals and 20 assists in 2015/16.

It's that sort of presence which Arteta should be craving in the number 10 role once again. Further evidence from last term suggests that he could well do exactly that with the Leicester playmaker.

Maddison averaged 1.7 key passes per game across the Premier League and Europa League, which was 0.3 more than Arsenal's most creative options in Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe.

Back in April, The Times' chief football writer Henry Winter described the Leicester man as having a "special talent", whilst Rodgers has frequently waxed lyrical over the "sensational" 24-year-old maestro.

Valued at £49.5m by Transfermarkt, it's evident that Maddison would be a perfect upgrade to Arteta's lacklustre attacking midfield department, and whilst £60m may seem like a lot to play, it's a deal that KSE should absolutely look to sanction.

AND in other news, Arsenal can sign a new Alexis Sanchez in £34m-rated "phenomenal talent"...