Talks imminent: Arsenal officials meeting in next hour to “discuss next steps” on £60m-plus transfer

Guimaraes would surely be a significant upgrade, and would therefore allow AFC to rotate more and allow the likes of Rice and Zubimendi more opportunities to rest after playing so much football in the last year or so.

Still, paying more than £60m for that kind of player seems like a lot, especially when Guimaraes would likely only be a signing for the next two or three years at most, due to his age.