Aaron Ramsey is in the twilight of his Arsenal career, with the Welshman set to leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season. Although a number of European giants have shown an interest in his services, he is widely expected to join Juventus.
It is rumoured that he has already agreed to a deal with the Italian club, who explored the possibility of bringing him to Turin this month. Arsenal were apparently unwilling to let him leave united the end of the season, with Emery preferring to have the player available for selection at the club rather than receive a miserly transfer fee for a player with six months left on his deal.
However, it appears that Arsenal are not entirely opposed to letting him go this month. Italian football journalist Nicolo Schira is reporting that The Gunners proposed a swap deal involving Ramsey and Juventus centre back Medhi Benatia, which was subsequently rejected by the Italian club.
The Moroccan international has been a bit-part player for the Serie A outfit this season, making only five appearances in the league. At 31-years old, he is apparently keen to seek out first team football, with AC Milan also interested in bringing him on board.
Juve are unwilling to lose him in this window, however, as they seek to compete on multiple fronts for the remainder of the season. They currently sit nine points clear at the top of Serie A, while the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo during the summer indicates their desire for Champions League glory in May.
While Benatia has forfeited his place in the team to Leonardo Bonucci after the Italian's return from Milan, any injuries to the current centre back pairing could see him play a major part at some point in the campaign.
Having already made major progress in the hunt to sign Ramsey, the Turin club are seemingly happy to wait until the end of the season for his arrival.
Arsenal could certainly do with some defensive reinforcements, having looked like a shambles at the back at times this season. They have also cast their eyes towards improvements further up the pitch, with Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez rumoured to be close to signing for the club.
