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Arsenal are confident of securing the signing of Kieran Tierney in the coming weeks and are prepared to allow Celtic their pick of several fringe players to get the deal done.

An initial offer of £15million has been rejected by Celtic, who are believed to be ready to do so should a second bid fail to meet their £25m asking price for the Scottish international.

Such a price tag represents over half of Arsenal's £45m transfer budget and the Gunners will be keen to get Tierney, Unai Emery's top target at left back, for as low a fee as possible.

To sweeten the deal the Gunners would be prepared to offer Celtic their choice of several fringe and youth players, either on a permanent deal or as a season-long loan.

The one Arsenal would be most keen to package into a deal for Tierney is Carl Jenkinson, who has been the fringes of the squad at the Emirates Stadium for several years and still has another year remaining on his contract. Celtic have an interest in the right-back, who has been told he is free to pursue a move this summer.

Should Celtic opt against a permanent deal for Jenkinson Arsenal would be prepared to offer them one of several leading lights from their academy. Among the names they will make available in negotiations are Jordi Osei-Tutu and Emile Smith Rowe whilst Konstantinos Mavropanos is one whose future is under consideration as Tierney's arrival would add to an already sizeable defence and push Nacho Monreal into a more frequent central role.

If Celtic want Eddie Nketiah Arsenal will consider loaning the young striker to the Scottish champions though they would then need to find a third-choice striker to ease the burden on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

Celtic have proven to be a popular location for top European clubs to send their young players in recent seasons and the Scottish side have helped to develop the likes of Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain) and Patrick Roberts (Manchester City) whilst also developing the likes of Moussa Dembele and Virgil van Dijk before moves to top European leagues.

Even giving Celtic their pick of loan players may not be enough to seal the deal, with reports in Scotland suggesting the Bhoys are holding firm on their £25m asking price. Still Arsenal are optimistic they can get the deal done in time for the start of pre-season in early July, by which time Tierney is expected to have recovered from surgery on a double hernia.

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