Erik ten Hag admit it ‘hurts’ to see Piero Hincapie leave Bayer Leverkusen ahead of his imminent transfer to Arsenal.

The Ecuador international is on the verge of joining the Gunners and becoming their eight signing of their astonishing transfer window.

Hincapie will join the north London club on a season-long loan but the deal includes an option to buy for a total package of €52million.

The 23-year-old, who can play at left-back or left centre-half, was left on the bench for Leverkusen’s Bundesliga game against Werder Bremen on Saturday, ahead of which Ten Hag voiced his disappointment.

He said: ‘Letting good players leave always hurts. But we also have other good players and they then need to take on that task.’

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