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Arsenal are set to loan promising midfielder Emile Smith Rowe to RB Leipzig, but without an option to buy in the summer.

Smith Rowe emerged as a potential target for the Bundesliga club late in the January transfer window, but were attempting to negotiate an option to buy into the loan deal.

But Arsenal have stood firm in their insistence that the ‘highly-rated’ 18-year-old’s departure will only be temporary.

The London Evening Standard say Smith Rowe flew to Germany on Thursday evening ahead of a medical with the side fourth in the Bundesliga.

They add that Arsenal ‘view the temporary switch as an important step in his development before resuming his career at Emirates Stadium’.

But Leipzig are in a race against time to finalise all the paperwork – the German transfer deadline is at 5pm UK time.

Arsenal themselves have already signed Denis Suarez on Thursday, with Christopher Nkunku their only other potential arrival after a move for Ivan Perisic collapsed.