According to Le Parisien, Portuguese central midfielder João Moutinho will leave AS Monaco if the Ligue 1 side fails to qualify for this season’s edition of the Champions League.

Bellshaw claims Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is monitoring the situation, given the Gunners’ persistent links to the playmaker.

The 28-year-old joined the club in 2013, and has since seen big-name players such as James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao leave either temporarily or permanently as the spending has been cut.

If Arsenal are looking for a versatile midfielder who can play the center back as well, they might be just one bad game away from landing AS Monaco’s Joao Moutinho.

Should Monaco not qualify, Arsenal could be ready to pounce.

When the season starts the window should be finished.

“It is hard because there’s more money in football, more clubs with big resources, and less players available”. We expect, like you, but at the moment, we are not close. The Daily Star previously reported that Moutinho has a mutual interest in moving to England as opposed to joining Zenit St Petersburg or returning to Porto.