Arsenal were this morning attempting to open talks with Paris St Germain over the possible transfers of Edinson Cavani and Adrien Rabiot.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was pictured in Paris today with the club hopeful of receiving encouragement in their admiration for both players, who are long-term targets.

Wenger admitted defeat in his attempts to sign Karim Benzema from Arsenal and is only interested in adding an elite centre-forward to his squad.

Cavani fits that bill having scored 36 goals in 59 games for PSG since his £55million move from Napoli. However, while the Ligue 1 club are open to allowing Zlatan Ibrahimovic to leave today - an option Wenger could perhaps pursue as a last-gasp, short-term alternative - they are yet to offer Arsenal any indication Cavani could also be made available.

The Gunners have enquired about Rabiot on several occasions with the 20-year-old close to a move to Arsenal last summer only for the transfer to fall through.

Wenger is keen on giving Francis Coquelin the chance to make the defensive midfield position his own this season and does not view the position as the same priority he did in January.

However, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini are now into their thirties and Rabiot would offer long-term competition for Coquelin in that position and although he remains highly rated by PSG, it is believed that, of the two, a deal for him is more feasible than Cavani at this stage.

What to expect on transfer deadline day 10 show all What to expect on transfer deadline day 1/10 Arsenal will buy a player they don't need Andre Santos. Kim Kallstrom. Maybe even Mesut Ozil. A tough start and the pressure on Arsene Wenger to break open the war chest grows intolerable. But he doesn’t always buy the player he needs. Last summer there were gaping holes at centre-back and defensive midfield. Who did Arsenal end up with? Danny Welbeck. 2/10 David Gold won't let you go to bed West Ham leave their transfer business late. Very late. So late that in January club co-chairman David Gold told fans: “Don’t go to bed”. Would he sign Emmanuel Adebayor? Or someone more shocking. No, a last minute deal fell through. The window might run until 18:00 but the Hammers are likely to carry on right up to the wire. 3/10 Tottenham take it to the last second Yes Mauricio Pochettino has been keen on Victor Wanyama for months. But Daniel Levy will not pay a penny more than he has to for a transfer target, expect any Spurs deal to go down to the wire. And a few hours beyond. 4/10 Shock transfers at the Sky Sports New desk For years Natalie Sawyer was the established choice to share presenting duties with the bizarre Scottish man who spends the dying hours of deadline day interrupting his colleagues to take phone calls live on air. Kate Abdo made the shock move up in January, will she be a permanent replacement? 5/10 Everyone has a friend at Heathrow Yes, a lot of people work at London’s airports. But it’s hard to believe that they all have access to the travel details of Edinson Cavani, Kaka, Falcao and Nikica Jelavic. And yet anonymous workers across the country will suddenly decide to email in with who they’ve spotted landing from Europe. 6/10 Mass loan departures from Chelsea Nathaniel Chalobah, Marko Marin and Mohamed Salah have all been cleared out but there’s surely still a cupboard in Carrington filled with once-bright European prospects ready to be farmed out to Vitesse Arnhem, Nottingham Forest and, if they’re really good, Milan. 7/10 Someone get Harry Redknapp a car We don’t care that he’s out of the management game. Deadline day just won’t be the same without the former Spurs boss, and a deal for a highly-rated English prospect. 8/10 A high-profile deal will take too long to complete, failed medical rumours will swirl You may already know who your club is going to sign. But where is that confirmation tweet, maybe with #WelcomeKarim (if only you were so lucky Arsenal fans). As the deadline ticks ever closer an “ITK” former football agent will tweet about a medical being failed. Suddenly panic will strike supporters. The player’s arrival will be confirmed an hour later. 9/10 A Championship striker costs how much? Ross McCormack. Andre Gray. Striker valuations in the second division of English football are becoming ever more spectacular. Who will be the latest goal-getter to attract a big money deal. Charlie Austin could be off for £15 million. And how much for former Arsenal striker Benik Afobe, currently firing them in at Wolves? 10/10 Time to gamble on a mercurial playmaker In one window alone Hull City’s Steve Bruce took all his eggs and placed them in baskets marked “Robert Snodgrass”, “Gaston Ramirez” and, most eerily of all, “Hatem Ben Arfa”. Hull were relegated that season. But that won’t stop managers at the bottom of the league convincing themselves they’ll be the ones to find the hidden potential in an Erik Lamela, Morgan Amalfitano or Scott Sinclair. 1/10 Arsenal will buy a player they don't need Andre Santos. Kim Kallstrom. Maybe even Mesut Ozil. A tough start and the pressure on Arsene Wenger to break open the war chest grows intolerable. But he doesn’t always buy the player he needs. Last summer there were gaping holes at centre-back and defensive midfield. Who did Arsenal end up with? Danny Welbeck. 2/10 David Gold won't let you go to bed West Ham leave their transfer business late. Very late. So late that in January club co-chairman David Gold told fans: “Don’t go to bed”. Would he sign Emmanuel Adebayor? Or someone more shocking. No, a last minute deal fell through. The window might run until 18:00 but the Hammers are likely to carry on right up to the wire. 3/10 Tottenham take it to the last second Yes Mauricio Pochettino has been keen on Victor Wanyama for months. But Daniel Levy will not pay a penny more than he has to for a transfer target, expect any Spurs deal to go down to the wire. And a few hours beyond. 4/10 Shock transfers at the Sky Sports New desk For years Natalie Sawyer was the established choice to share presenting duties with the bizarre Scottish man who spends the dying hours of deadline day interrupting his colleagues to take phone calls live on air. Kate Abdo made the shock move up in January, will she be a permanent replacement? 5/10 Everyone has a friend at Heathrow Yes, a lot of people work at London’s airports. But it’s hard to believe that they all have access to the travel details of Edinson Cavani, Kaka, Falcao and Nikica Jelavic. And yet anonymous workers across the country will suddenly decide to email in with who they’ve spotted landing from Europe. 6/10 Mass loan departures from Chelsea Nathaniel Chalobah, Marko Marin and Mohamed Salah have all been cleared out but there’s surely still a cupboard in Carrington filled with once-bright European prospects ready to be farmed out to Vitesse Arnhem, Nottingham Forest and, if they’re really good, Milan. 7/10 Someone get Harry Redknapp a car We don’t care that he’s out of the management game. Deadline day just won’t be the same without the former Spurs boss, and a deal for a highly-rated English prospect. 8/10 A high-profile deal will take too long to complete, failed medical rumours will swirl You may already know who your club is going to sign. But where is that confirmation tweet, maybe with #WelcomeKarim (if only you were so lucky Arsenal fans). As the deadline ticks ever closer an “ITK” former football agent will tweet about a medical being failed. Suddenly panic will strike supporters. The player’s arrival will be confirmed an hour later. 9/10 A Championship striker costs how much? Ross McCormack. Andre Gray. Striker valuations in the second division of English football are becoming ever more spectacular. Who will be the latest goal-getter to attract a big money deal. Charlie Austin could be off for £15 million. And how much for former Arsenal striker Benik Afobe, currently firing them in at Wolves? 10/10 Time to gamble on a mercurial playmaker In one window alone Hull City’s Steve Bruce took all his eggs and placed them in baskets marked “Robert Snodgrass”, “Gaston Ramirez” and, most eerily of all, “Hatem Ben Arfa”. Hull were relegated that season. But that won’t stop managers at the bottom of the league convincing themselves they’ll be the ones to find the hidden potential in an Erik Lamela, Morgan Amalfitano or Scott Sinclair.

Wenger has insisted he will not panic buy and is not expected to bolster his squad for the sake of it despite many supporters calling for further additions to the £10million capture of Petr Cech from Chelsea.

Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has attracted interest from Galatasaray but the Turkish transfer window closed last night so any potential transfer would now have to wait until next year.