Arsenal will hold official talks with representatives of Anderlecht's Cheikhou Kouyate this week according to Goal.com.
The Gunners have previously been linked with the towering Senegalese centre-back but will now turn that interest into negotiations when the two parties meet on Thursday.
Kouyate was the subject of a formal offer from Russian side CSKA Moscow but his agent Saffet Balkan has revealed that Arsenal are now looking to up the ante for the 24-year old.
"Tomorrow morning I will have a meeting with two clubs in Belgium to discuss Kouyate's future," Balkan told Goal.com.
"One is from Moscow and the other is from the Premier League but both clubs have requested that I do not say which ones. We already have one offer of 6.5m from Russia which Anderlecht are happy with but now we have to finalise things.
"I think he would prefer to play in England because it will suit his style very well. We will see what happens in the next 24 hours."
