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Arsenal make ‘contact’ to sign Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi

By on December 22, 2025

Ayyoub Bouaddi

Arsenal have reportedly made ‘contact’ to sign LOSC Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, as per Caught Offside.

Following Manchester City’s victory over West Ham United, the Gunners lost their place at the top of the Premier League table for a very brief period.

But after defeating Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday night, Mikel Arteta’s side have regained their place at the top of the table. Currently, Arsenal have only a two-point lead with 39 points from 17 matches, while Aston Villa sit third on 36 points from the same number of games.

On Tuesday, Arsenal will take on Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-final before facing off against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium next weekend.

In the meantime, it appears that despite purchasing Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard last summer, the North London club are looking to add more depth in the engine room next year.

Caught Offside state that Mikel Arteta loves to have technically sound players at his disposal; therefore, the Gunners are ‘keen’ on purchasing Bouaddi after being impressed by his recent development.

The Emirates club have already started laying the groundwork by making first ‘contact’ with the player’s representatives to finalise the operation, as they look to sign him next summer.

Bouaddi to Arsenal

However, the North London club will have to overcome fierce competition to sign him as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool are all in this race, with the Blues planning to submit a formal £43m bid to seal the deal ahead of other teams.

Moreover, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in him, with Les Parisiens using his family ties to lure him to Parc des Princes.

Lille recently handed him a fresh term until 2029; therefore, they aren’t in any rush to sell him next year and want at least £52m to sanction his departure.

Arsenal currently have Zubimendi, Norgaard, Mikel Merino, and Declan Rice as options to deploy in the deeper midfield roles. Therefore, Arteta’s side don’t need to spend big to add further depth to this area.

However, they seemingly don’t want to give up an opportunity like this to sign a talented midfielder like Bouaddi. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether Arsenal eventually opt to secure his service next year.