Arsenal and City Plan January Swoop For Former Chelsea Midfielder - Report

Arsenal and Manchester City are believed to be pursuing Lassana Diarra with the hope of signing the Locomotiv Moscow midfielder in the January transfer window.

Diarra moved to the Premier League from French side Le Havre in 2005 and after two years with Chelsea and five months with Arsenal he moved onto Portsmouth before Real Madrid in 2009.

But the 28 year old has since moved to Russia and was one of the players to fall victim of Anzhi Makhachkala's big spending and then quick turnaround in philosophy when the club didn't enjoy immediate success.

He is currently with Locomotiv but is believed to be open to the possibility of moving back to the Premier League and the Express claims that both Arsenal and City have expressed an interest in his services.

Arsene Wenger is no stranger to bringing old players back to the club when he decides they can be of use again, and after re-signing Mathieu Flamini in the summer the midfielder has proven to be an integral part of the Gunners' squad once more.

But the north London side will face stiff competition from City, with Diarra currently boasting a wage of around £65,000 per week and looking to match that at any club he should move to.

PSG and Monaco are also believed to be monitoring his situation but Wenger will certainly be keen to compete now that Arsenal are challenging for trophies.

The Gunners are currently at the top of the table and many have credited this to the manager being willing to break the bank over the summer for Mesut Ozil. The Germany international has reinvigorated the squad and while in recent years Wenger has been somewhat frugal with his money he might be willing to break that trend once again for a player he already knows well.