Arsenal are close to finally completing their first major signing of the summer, with Arsène Wenger hoping to push through a £14 million deal for Bayern Munich’s Luiz Gustavo before the start of the season on Saturday, The Telegraph reports.

The Brazil holding midfielder has slipped down the midfielder pecking order at Bayern after the arrival of Barcelona’s Thiago Alcantara alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martínez.

Wenger knows that his team were especially reliant on Mikel Arteta in the holding midfield position last season and Gustavo would effectively be the replacement for Alex Song, who was sold to Barcelona last summer.

Arsenal did also have a bid rejected in January for Toulouse midfielder Étienne Capoue and were unsuccessful earlier this summer with an £18 million offer for Bayer Leverkusen’s Lars Bender.