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Former Arsenal youth team star Steve Sidwell has backed his old club to complete the unlikely signing of Manchester United defender
![Catherine Ivill/GettyImages Paul Pogba,Eric Bailly](https://media.minutemediacdn.com/process?url=https%3A%2F%2F90min-images-original.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fproduction%2Farsenal-v-manchester-united-fa-cup-fourth-round-5c4d9dd728983a46ca000001.jpg&filters%5Bcrop%5D%5Bw%5D=0.9730905695611578&filters%5Bcrop%5D%5Bh%5D=0.9171428571428571&filters%5Bcrop%5D%5Bo_x%5D=0.02728291316526611&filters%5Bcrop%5D%5Bo_y%5D=0.03428571428571429&filters%5Bquality%5D%5Btarget%5D=80&type=.jpg&filters%5Bresize%5D%5Bw%5D=630&filters%5Bresize%5D%5Bh%5D=472)
“We’ve seen them do deals before,” he told Sky Sports (as quoted in the Star.)
"We’ve seen [Robin] Van Persie, [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, [Alexis] Sanchez, so I wouldn’t say no," said Sidwell speaking about the likelihood of the defender switching allegiances to rivals Arsenal.
Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelöf both won 100% of their tackles and aerial duels vs. Arsenal.
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 25, 2019
Solid. pic.twitter.com/MrR6LLFHi3
“I think with Bailly, I look at him, I feel sorry for him at times.
“It was just the inconsistency with how he played. He had some outstanding games when you’re watching him the next time, he’d be really poor.
“I think the times that he has been poor he’s just been overexposed."
![Clive Mason/GettyImages Eric Bailly](https://media.minutemediacdn.com/process?url=https%3A%2F%2F90min-images-original.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fproduction%2Fmanchester-united-v-sevilla-fc-uefa-champions-league-round-of-16-second-leg-5c4d9e233475f6c099000001.jpg&filters%5Bcrop%5D%5Bw%5D=0.830065359477124&filters%5Bcrop%5D%5Bh%5D=1.0&filters%5Bcrop%5D%5Bo_x%5D=0.03201680672268907&filters%5Bcrop%5D%5Bo_y%5D=0.0&filters%5Bquality%5D%5Btarget%5D=80&type=.jpg&filters%5Bresize%5D%5Bw%5D=630&filters%5Bresize%5D%5Bh%5D=472)
Midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been filling in at the back for Arsenal in recent weeks and Emery could utilise the loan market to add numbers to his squad - with Gary Cahill another name linked.
Bailly joined United for a fee of around £34m in 2016 under Jose Mourinho but has failed to impress in just eight outings this term. However, despite Sidwell's backing, a deal with Arsenal seems unlikely with reports indicating that the Red Devils have already rejected an approach.
Source : 90min