According to reports from Defensa Central, Mikel Arteta has asked Arsenal to pursue a loan deal for Isco in January with an option to buy for the summer.
The 38-cap Spaniard has won four Champions League titles during his time at Real Madrid but is out of favour this season, having started just three times in La Liga.
With his contract due to enter its final 18 months, any deal where Real Madrid could end up getting some money for the attacking midfielder will be worth their consideration.
But is he the right signing for the Gunners? GIVEMESPORT seek to answer that question by looking at three potential consequences of Arsenal recruiting Isco in January…
Aubameyang back amongst the goals
Make no mistake about it, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s lack of goals is the biggest problem at Arsenal right now.
While there’s been a worrying correlation between the Gabon international signing a new contract and the goals drying up, the fundamental issue is the limited service he’s been provided.
Arsenal rank a lowly 17th for key passes in the Premier League, joint with Newcastle, and having excluded Mesut Ozil from his Premier League squad, Mikel Arteta is lacking a chief creator who can make it their mission to ensure Aubameyang gets the ball in the right areas.
Isco is a strong candidate to remedy that. Although recent seasons have been incredibly underwhelming, between 2013/14 and 2017/18 he produced at least six assists in each La Liga campaign despite not being a guaranteed starter.
He’s certainly got the natural vision and technical ability to unlock defences, and Arsenal’s struggling striker would be the biggest benefactor of that.
Arsenal move closer towards 4-3-3 vision
The Athletic recently revealed that the Arsenal technical team have an ultimate vision of creating a 4-3-3 side akin to Liverpool and Man City, and snapping up Isco would help take them closer towards that tactical framework.
Arteta has used a 3-4-3 more frequently than not in the Premier League this season but unless he intends on playing Isco in less favourable capacities, such as on the left wing, then deploying his side in a 4-3-3 with Isco operating as a No.8 alongside Dani Ceballos seems like the most obvious route to go down.
Of course, that could be modified slightly into more of a 4-2-3-1 with Isco playing directly behind the striker. But either way, bringing in the Spaniard makes that engine room seem a much more natural fit for a 4-3-3 setup, rather than hoping a series of more defensive-minded midfielders like Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny can offer something offensively.
Arteta clearly sees something he likes in Joe Willock, having selected him frequently in the Europa League this season and started him in Arsenal’s last two Premier League games.
But at 21 years of age, the Arsenal academy product is inevitably expendable and considering Ceballos’ quality and the money spent to bring Thomas Partey to north London, it could well be Willock who feels the pinch in terms of game-time if Isco’s snapped up.
The same applies to Xhaka and Elneny too, but as midfielders who are more defensive in nature, they’re not quite direct competitors for the more advanced roles in Arsenal’s engine room in the same way.
Of course, Willock’s got a whole career ahead of him so it’s by no means a nail-in-the-coffin type scenario. But at least for the second half of the season, the youngster’s development may have to take a backwards step in favour of getting the most out of Isco and accordingly improving Arsenal’s results.