Arsenal closing in on Cazorla

The Spain midfielder is in London finalising his move and Press Association Sport understands he will be part of the Gunners squad which travels to Germany for a training camp next week if, as expected, the deal is formally completed by then.

Arsenal will take on Cologne next weekend in a friendly arranged as part of the deal which brought Lukas Podolski to the Emirates Stadium.

The club has not yet been able to formally announce the signing of Cazorla owing to complications caused by the financial plight of his current club Malaga, but the Spanish side's problems are not expected to jeopardise the completion of the deal.

The recruitment of Cazorla would be the third major piece of transfer business completed by Arsenal in the close season, with Podolski and Montpellier forward Olivier Giroud also coming in.

It has also been heavily linked with Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin, with Real boss Jose Mourinho saying the player can leave the Bernabeu.

Cazorla was part of Spain's victorious EURO 2012 squad, but only featured for 16 minutes during the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

He was Malaga's flagship signing of last northern summer but the club is experiencing severe financial difficulties and looks set to offload a number of big names before the new Primera Division campaign begins.

Meanwhile, Arsenal striker Benik Afobe has joined Bolton Wanderers on a season-long loan deal.

The 19-year-old England youth international is set for a second spell playing in the Championship, having ended the last campaign on loan at Reading and helping it win promotion to the Premier League.

A short statement on www.arsenal.com confirmed the news, adding: "Everyone at the club wishes Benik well for his time with Bolton."

Afobe follows Jack Wilshere and Ryo Miyaichi in going on loan from the north London club to Bolton.