Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is determined to bring in David Villa to the Emirates as soon as possible, with the Frenchman making a personal call to the Barcelona forward in a bid to convince the Spaniard his future lies in the English Premier League.
The Gunners have reportedly made an official inquiry with Barcelona for their 31-year-old forward, with the Spanish league leaders holding out for around £15 million ($24 million).
Wenger made a phone call to Villa, who is reportedly keen to move to Arsenal, after seeing his chances with Barcelona diminished considerably, according to the Sunday People.
Barcelona, who gave Wenger permission to talk to Villa, would much rather sell their striker in the summer, but know they are likely to get a bigger amount in January, with Villa's contract set to expire in 2014.
Wenger is not one to usually make a big-money bid for players over 30, but has been pressured into bring in proven quality after another unconvincing first half of the season.
Villa will add further quality up front, with Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud already looking good. The Gunners have also been linked with a move for Atletico Madrid forward Adrian Lopez, with the club reportedly making an official bid, although they are reluctant to match his buyout clause.
Arsenal have already offloaded two of their unwanted players with Marouane Chamakh making a loan move to West Ham while Johan Djourou has joined Hannover.
The manager admitted he would bring in a couple of players in the transfer window, with Arsenal now having the headache of another fixture after only managing a 2-2 draw against Swansea despite dominating large periods of the game.
"If we find one or two in the transfer market, then why not? Let's first keep the players we have and maybe add one or two because we've lost Chamakh and Djourou now," Wenger said.
"I am frustrated because I wouldn't want a replay but if that's the choice between going out or staying in the hat then I'll take the replay.
"(We) play at the Emirates. They have many games as well. We have a (rearranged game) against West Ham on January 23."