Arsenal Make Southampton Star Morgan Schneiderlin No 1 Midfield Target in January

Arsenal are considering a move to sign Southampton midfielder and Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Morgan Schneiderlin in January, according to the Mirror.

The France international was set to rejoin with his former manager Mauricio Pochettino, who joined the White Hart Lane club after leaving the Saints earlier in the summer.

However, Southampton were adamant in keeping the midfielder at St Mary's Stadium, especially after losing several of the first team players in the summer.

Arsene Wenger is aware that his current holding midfield players Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini and Abou Diaby have been struggling with injuries and form. The Frenchman is not a fan of signing players in the mid-season transfer window.

Injuries to several first team players and lack of squad depth have seen Arsenal struggle in all competitions this season. This includes a 2-1 defeat to Southampton in the third round of the Capital One Cup.

The Mirror claims the Gunners will hand their manager the funds to bring in reinforcements and they have now made Schneiderlin their priority midfield target when the transfer window opens next year.

The 24-year-old is valued to be around £25m and Wenger is ready to meet Southampton's asking price for signing the midfielder. It should be seen whether Tottenham could give competition to Arsenal in signing Schneiderlin.

Should the player be made available, both the north London clubs could try to grab the opportunity to sign the midfielder.

However, the Frenchman has set his sights on playing in the Champions League and a chance to play in Europe's elite club competition could tempt him to make a switch to the Emirates.

"Of course I want to participate in the Champions League soon. I want to play every three days. I'm very ambitious," Schneiderlin explained.

"I know I'm very lucky. I'm in a Premier League club that is run very well. We might be doing something fantastic. Qualification in the Champions League, it would be extraordinary. It would be a bomb in the English championship."