Arsenal are set to move Granit Xhaka on to Bayer Leverkusen via transfer – however, the club will first seek to sign a replacement before the deal is completed, according to journalist Florian Plettenberg on Twitter.

While Xhaka still ‘wants to join’ Bayer Leverkusen, movement on the transfer appears to have stalled until Arsenal can find an adequate replacement for the Swiss midfielder.

In Plettenberg’s tweet, he wrote: “It will take a few more days before both clubs reach an agreement. Xhaka still wants to join Bayer 04 and is waiting for the next steps.”

Who are Arsenal looking to replace Granit Xhaka with?

Plettenberg named three players who Arsenal will look to replace Xhaka with – Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan, Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and West Ham United’s Declan Rice.

While Arsenal have been linked with all three players, they are not alone in their hunt for any of them. As such, they will need to beat their rivals to the punch if they wish to bring one of them to the Emirates Stadium in the summer.

Which of these three would be the best?

Of the three, Ilkay Gundogan would probably be the best like-for-like replacement. While Xhaka is primarily a defensive midfielder, he has enjoyed fine form in the box-to-box role this season.

Of Rice, Caicedo and Gundogan, the City midfielder is probably the most suited to filling this gap – even if he is the oldest of the trio, at 32 years of age. Caicedo and Rice could potentially thrive in the box-to-box role, but they are unproven in that position.

Gundogan will also be the cheapest of the three. Caicedo and Rice are currently locked behind massive price tags by their respective clubs – Gundogan, on the other hand, could leave the Etihad Stadium on a free transfer if the Citizens fail to agree a new deal with him.