Report: Arsenal and Chelsea discussing Essien loan

There have been reports all over the board on this one, but we've got something from a somewhat reliable source here. According to one of the BBC's African specialists:

West to North: It's confirmed Arsenal and Chelsea are currently discussing loan terms regarding Ghana midfielder Michael Essien - #afc #cfc

— Oluwashina Okeleji (@oluwashina) August 31, 2012

Obviously this is nothing definitive, but the BBC is one of the best sources out there. Arsenal really do appear to have genuine interest in bringing Essien in on loan, although the amount of interest Chelsea have in such a move would seem to be a bit less clear.

I wouldn't be a big fan of a move to Arsenal, but an Essien loan would make some sense if a large enough loan fee was involved. I'm still hoping that there's no interest from Chelsea in sending Essien to Arsenal, and frankly I'd love to see him just stay at the Bridge. If nothing else, I'd guess we'll find out today. Stay tuned...