Arsenal have made an offer to bring Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Ibrahim Maza to the Emirates Stadium as a potential replacement for Martin Odegaard, according to a report.
Odegaard is one of the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League and is also the Arsenal captain.
The former Real Madrid attacking midfielder is 27 now and is at the top of his game at the moment.
However, Odegaard has had injury problems this season, and Arsenal have shown that they can cope without him in their starting line-up.
According to Fussball Daten, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta have identified Ibrahim Maza as a potential long-term replacement for Odegaard.
The German news outlet has claimed that the Gunners, who are aiming to win the Premier League and the Champions League this season, have made an offer of €40million (£35m) for the Algeria international attacking midfielder.
Man City rival Arsenal for Ibrahim Maza
Manchester City, too, are said to have made a similar bid, but Bayer have turned down offers from both the Premier League club.
The report has claimed that Arsenal see Maza ‘as the ideal piece of the puzzle to bolster their rotation in the post-Odegaard era’.
Both Arsenal and Man City are reported to have ‘already submitted initial offers in the region of €40 million, which were promptly rejected’.
Maza has been on the books of Bayer since the summer of 2025 when he joined from fellow German club Hertha Berlin.
The 20-year-old Algeria international has been deployed mainly as an attacking midfielder for Bayer this season.
The youngster has scored five goals and given six assists in 39 matches in all competitions for Bayer this season.
There is interest in the attacker from Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur as well, with Atletico Madrid and Juventus keen on him, too.
Bayer would ideally like Maza to stay at the club for another season so that his value rises and they can sell him for a lot more in the summer of 2027.
The report comes following Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League last weekend.
The Gunners are now three points ahead of Man City at the top of the table, but Pep Guardiola’s side, who are second, have a game in hand.
After the defeat, Arteta said when asked if Arsenal can still win the Premier League title this season: “I believe today, I believe on Wednesday, a week ago, because I see them every day and I know the level that we have.
“But today, if they need to be more convinced, I think they are now more convinced.
“They were talking about it in the dressing room. It’s a new league now. They were a game in hand.
“We have three points of advantage and five games to play.
“So everything is still to play for. So we know how much we want it and we’re not going to stop and we’re going to go again, that’s for sure.”