Arsenal news: AC Milan striker Stephan El Sharaawy delighted with Gunners interest

AC Milan striker Stephan El Sharaawy has expressed his delight over Arsenal's interest in signing him.

The Italian forward has been sidelined with an injury for the past five weeks and is on the road to recovery, as the Italian giants continue their mid-table struggle in the Serie A.

The Gunners have been linked with a move for the striker in the past as well and reports suggest that Arsene Wenger's team are still monitoring his progress, despite being out of action due to injury for a lengthy period of time.

The 22-year-old Italian has acknowledged Arsenal's interest, but has made it clear that his complete focus is on returning from injury and doing well for Milan.

"I am gratified by Arsenal's interest, certainly, but my objective is to come back for Milan and do well at Milan," Sharaawy said, as quoted by the Mirror.

The former Genova forward, who suffered a broken metatarsal has given a positive update with regards to his recovery from the injury.

"I am recovering well, later this week I should be removing the cast and then the rehabilitation process can begin," the Italian international added.

Meanwhile, Gunners' stand-in skipper Per Mertesacker has heaped praise on striker Danny Welbeck after he put in a professional performance against his former club Manchester United during Arsenal's 2-1 win over their arch rivals in the FA Cup on Monday.

He believes that the English striker helped the team with his enthusiasm and more so with the way he defended from the front.

"Danny was really motivated and you could see that in the first half. He was always demanding balls and trying to get through but we kept him patient and he pressed from the top in the second half," Mertesacker told Arsenal's official site.

"For him, leaving a great place like here was not an easy decision. He was a great player here but he continues at Arsenal. I think he has done extremely well this season and I hope we do it again and again."

"He was rewarded with a special goal for him, but as a team we defended from the top and that was the key," the German defender explained.