6/6 long balls, 7 recoveries: Arsenal have watched 20yo UCL midfielder ahead of possible move

Arsenal watched Serbian midfielder Aleksandar Stankovic in action for Club Brugge against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League earlier today.

The Gunners have been linked with the 20-year-old since late December, even though Inter Milan have a buy-back clause at their disposal.

The Nerazzurri can re-sign Stankovic from Brugge for £20 million this summer, but Calciomercato report that they could sell him for a profit thereon.

Inter are aware of interest from Mikel Arteta’s side, but it would take an ‘indecent’ offer to persuade the Nerazzurri to contemplate a quick departure.

Meanwhile, an official from the Gunners was in the stands to monitor Stankovic during the 4-1 loss to Atletico in the second leg of the Champions League knockout play-off (7-4 agg defeat).

Despite the defeat, the Serbian had a relatively good outing. He had a passing accuracy of 89 percent and completed 100 percent of his long balls (6/6) against Diego Simeone’s side.

He also won five duels with seven recoveries. Stankovic made one error leading to a shot, but barring that, he managed to hold his own despite Atletico’s second-half dominance.

Stankovic had a good Champions League campaign with Brugge, who exceeded expectations. It seems pretty much certain that Inter will buy him back from the Belgian giants.

The question remains whether Arsenal will contemplate making an approach for the player. It could take a higher fee of £35m to £40m to persuade the Nerazzurri to sanction his sale.

Stankovic would be a good long-term signing for the Gunners. He may be seen as a successor to Christian Norgaard, who has talked up the possibility of retiring at Brondby.

Stats from Sofascore.com

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