Arsenal and Marseille remain locked in talks over a deal for Eddie Nketiah.

The striker is a target for the French club, who are in the market for a new No9 after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah.

Nketiah has slipped down the pecking order at Arsenal and has not started a competitive game for them since the turn of the year.

The Gunners are open to selling the striker this summer if the right offer comes along, with reports in France stating Marseille’s preference is to take Nketiah on loan before making the deal permanent next summer.

Arsenal, however, will not be rushed into selling the 25-year-old, who has previously caught the eye of the likes of Crystal Palace.

Nketiah was part of Arsenal’s pre-season tour to the United States and was involved in all three of their matches.

The striker still has three years left on his current contract, which is reportedly worth in the region of £100,000-a-week.

Arsenal are now back in the UK after their tour to the US and are set to be boosted by the return of Aaron Ramsdale, Bukayo Saka, David Raya and William Saliba. The quartet were given an extended break after going deep at Euro 2024 this summer, but are due back in training this weekend.

Arsenal have two more pre-season games next week, with both matches taking place at Emirates Stadium. They face Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, before taking on Lyon on Sunday.

The club have been working to bolster their squad for the new season, which they will begin against Wolves on August 17.

Raya’s loan move from Brentford has been made permanent for £27million and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori has joined from Bologna for £42m.

Arsenal are eyeing further additions and would like to sign a new midfielder and forward. They are interested in Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino, who was on their radar before he impressed during Spain’s run to winning Euro 2024.

Merino is into the final year of his contract and has so far been unwilling to pen an extension.

There could be departures from Arsenal before the transfer window shuts later this month. Kieran Tierney, Reiss Nelson and Ramsdale could all go depending on what offers materialise for them in the coming weeks.