Arsenal's move for Youri Tielemans could happen in the near future, according to Sky Sports pundit Michael Dawson...

What's the word?

The Gunners' former foe was speaking on Sky Sports News hours before their Premier League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers [13:35pm, November 12th] and claimed:

"He is coming to the end of his contract, so that would be a no-brainer, I think. Will they wait until the summer? That will be a question," before then adding: "Tielemans - I think it will only be a matter of time."

Meanwhile, a report from Voetbal Primeur this week suggested that the Leicester City dynamo had already agreed on a deal to join the north London giants at the end of his £35k-per-week contract, which is set to expire at the end of the season.

90min have also said that the 25-year-old is likely to be a target in January but for how much remains to be seen having been touted at £25m in the summer, with the Foxes star currently valued at £36m by CIES Football Observatory.

Perfect reinforcement in January

Arsenal sit atop the standings heading into the break for the Qatar World Cup this month, meaning they will be holding the premature crown at Christmas - something that the club have not experienced in a very long time.

And whilst Mikel Arteta's team have been wholly impressive this campaign, the truth of the matter is, they are only a smatter of injuries away from it all crumbling.

The Spaniard is severely lacking strength in depth. If he were to lose Gabriel Jesus, then it would be down to Eddie Nketiah, who has shown very little since signing his contract extension.

It's a similar situation in the engine room and fears will have shot up after seeing Granit Xhaka depart the pitch prematurely on Saturday night. Arteta has since put that down to being a sickness bug, though the troublesome situation over any potential unavailability still lingers.

Just like Nketiah, Albert Sambi Lokonga has hardly been inspiring in what little game time he's been offered, which is exactly why the club - namely technical director Edu Gaspar - must seal a move for Tielemans sooner rather than later.

His all-roundedness makes for the ideal signing in January as he can contribute at either end of the pitch - very much like the aforementioned Swiss star and his midfield partner, Thomas Partey.

Once described as a "phenomenon" by former Anderlecht man Par Zetterberg, Tielemans has perhaps been the only other shining light to James Maddison at the King Power Stadium this term, having provided four goal contributions in 15 outings and as many as 44 shot-creating actions, via FBref.

The 25-year-old, who is heading to this month's major tournament with Belgium, also ranks inside the top 12% of his positional peers across Europe for tackles (2.8) and the top 17% for blocks (1.58) per 90, thus showing that defensive side to his game, too.

These are actually numbers that exceed both the inform Xhaka - who has managed only one more SCA - and Partey - who isn't as known for his attacking third efforts.

As such, it would be wise for Edu and Arteta to make Tielemans a priority in January as he'd add vital depth in what could be a stunning title run-in heading into the back end of the 2022/23 campaign and to also aid their quest for silverware in Europe.

AND in other news, Arteta could land Yaya Toure 2.0 as Arsenal eye swoop for "relentless" £35m "phenom"...