Could Arsenal be close to signing Tottenham's top transfer target?

It should come as a shock to absolutely no one, but Spurs would love to have Southampton Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin at White Hart Lane next season.  The problem, of course, is whether being reunited with Spurs' boss Mauricio Pochettino is attractive enough to make him forget about the Champions League spots that other clubs can offer him, such as Arsenal.

Today, Schneiderlin was invited onto radio station France Blue Alsace and attempted to clear the air on what the future holds for him:

"The negotiations are ongoing and should be completed in the coming days....Hopefully before the resumption of [Southampton's pre-season] training next week."

Quotes are always a good thing, especially when it comes from the player himself and not "unnamed sources" and this comes on the heels of multiple reports stating that he has struck a deal to leave Southampton.

The quotes today were run by numerous sites, such as The Daily Star, London Evening Standard, and talkSPORT.

Now, the real question is this:  Where is he headed?  If odds-makers are to be believed, it would appear that Arsenal are the front runners to land the French midfielder.

If Schneiderlin is believed to be on the search for Champions League football (and there's nothing to debunk that theory), Arsenal being the front runner makes the most sense.  They're in need of a proven defensive midfielder, and Schneiderlin checks all the boxes.  Tottenham, of course, can only offer Europa League football, having qualified for the group stage already.  While this is a very minor step above what Southampton has (Saints are in the third qualifying round in Europa), it probably isn't enough if Arsenal or Manchester United want Schneiderlin.

Stay tuned on this, because if Schneiderlin's quotes are to be believed along with the reports that a deal has been struck, we may be hearing about a transfer in the coming days.