LONDON, England, August 22- Arsenal have finally landed Turkish midfielder Nuri Sahin from Real Madrid on a season long loan, reports in England stated on Wednesday.
Sahin, who has been in manager Arsene Wenger’s radar for seven year is set to move to the Emirates Stadium after a breakthrough in talks between the clubs.
Dailymail report the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder proposed transfer had hit a snag as Real wanted a fixed price of 14m pounds attached to the deal if Arsenal decide to take up the option of signing the Turkey midfielder once his loan ends.
The Gunners were so confident of securing Sahin’s services that they planned a photo shoot on Monday ahead of his official unveiling.
The club called a halt to the shoot after the last minute problem. The Gunners are also expecting to offload Andrey Arshavin before the close of the transfer window after Zenit St Petersburg revived their interest in the Russia forward.
Arsenal are desperate to shift Arshavin’s £70,000 a week off the wage bill.
According to Goal.com, Sahin’s arrival will strengthen the midfield options of Wenger, who sanctioned the sale of Alex Song to Barcelona for 15 million pounds on Monday and is also likely to be without Jack Wilshere for the first three months of the season through injury.
Sahin’s arrival at Emirates Stadium comes after he had agreed in principle to join Liverpool following advice from ex-Red Xabi Alonso that he would get more opportunities at Anfield.
Los Blancos were keen for Sahin to move to Merseyside after agreeing a loan fee that is believed to be higher than what Arsenal will pay, while Jose Mourinho felt that the 23-year-old could excel under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, his former protege at Chelsea.
But Arsenal’s renewed interest last week turned Sahin’s head and Liverpool withdrew their interest in signing the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder on Saturday.
Sahin is the second high-profile midfielder this summer to take a late U-turn on joining Liverpool, following Gylfi Sigurdsson, who was on the verge of a move to Anfield before signing for Tottenham.
