Unai Emery Personally Telephones Sevilla Star in Attempt to Convince Him to Join Arsenal

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has reportedly phoned Sevilla midfielder Ever Banega in a bid to persuade the Argentina international to join what is fast turning

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has reportedly phoned Sevilla midfielder Ever Banega in a bid to persuade the Argentina international to join what is fast turning into a Gunners revolution in north London this summer.

Arsenal have already secured the signings of Stephan Lichtsteiner and Bernd Leno, with Lucas Torreira and Sokratis Papastathopoulos on the way. But the departure of Jack Wilshere, following the earlier exit of Santi Cazorla, means the midfield is an area that needs strengthening.

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According to Estadio Deportivo, the man to meet that need could be Banega after Emery's personal intervention to try and convince him his future lies at the Emirates Stadium.

The pair worked together successfully at Sevilla, winning the Europa League in 2015 and 2016 before Banega opted for a fresh challenge with Inter when his contract expired. His time in Italy was ultimately limited to just one season and he returned to Sevilla last summer.

Estadio Deportivo notes that 29-year-old Banega, who is contract to Sevilla until 2020, currently has a €20m (£17.6m) buyout clause in his contract. It is said that the figure will rise to €25m (£22m) in the final ten days of the summer transfer window.

As things stand, Arsenal's central midfield options are limited to Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, who signed a new contract earlier this month, and Mohamed Elneny.

Torreira will add to that once his £26m move from Sampdoria is complete, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles could feature more in his favoured position after operating as a wing back for large parts of last season, but Banega would offer something different on top.

Gossip elsewhere suggests that Arsenal are now increasingly unlikely to sign coveted Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri.