Arsenal sent club officials to scout Besiktas midfielder Oguzhan Ozyakup ahead of the Istanbul derby between Besiktas and Fenerbahce on Sunday.
Turkish-Football reported that the North London outfit were set to send scouts to keep tabs on their former youth star.
The Black Eagles came from behind to beat their rivals 3-1 at the Vodafone Park stadium in a memorable derby clash.
There was one major problem. Ozyakup was ruled out of the clash at the last minute due to a stomach bug, making it a bit of a waster trip for the Arsenal scouts.
His holiness ?
The lord of the Rabona ?
Ricardo Quaresma puts Beşiktaş ahead in the Derby with this ? pic.twitter.com/ilAiIXcjma— Turkish Football (@Turkish_Futbol1) February 25, 2018
Five days on and Besiktas are set to take on Fenerbahce again, this time in the Turkish Cup semi-final first leg at the Vodafone Park stadium.
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Ozyakup has recovered for the clash but will start on the bench after struggling with team training mid-week.
The Gunners are not expected to keep tabs on the Turkey international in person but will be monitoring the game.
The Gunners have been keeping tabs on Ozyakup for the past two-seasons.
The 25-year-old made the move to Besiktas from Arsenal back in 2012 after failing to secure a spot in the Gunners first-team squad.
Ozyakup has gone onto win two Turkish league titles and play an instrumental role in the Black Eagles UEFA Champions League run to the Last 16.
