Arsenal maintain talks to signal a £35m defender

Extra defenders, Mikel, are you certain? When Arsenal signed Piero Hincapie and Cristian Mosquera over the summer season, you could possibly hear the ironic laughs.

The Gunners did bolster their ahead line over the past switch window however very not often does a market go by with out Mikel Arteta spending on the defence.

Properly, thank heavens they did. Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White have already missed a good portion of the season whereas William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristian Mosquera have additionally missed matches as a consequence of harm.

It’s left Arsenal in a difficult spot. Christian Norgaard crammed in at centre-back towards Membership Brugge just a few weeks in the past whereas Declan Rice even featured at right-back towards Brighton final weekend.

Due to this fact, it’s unsurprising that they’re focusing on extra defenders heading into 2026.

Arsenal chasing highly-rated defender

Regardless of accidents, Arsenal’s backline appears to be like nicely arrange for the long run.

Mosquera has walked into the Arsenal workforce with relative ease and ensured that when Saliba was absent, he wasn’t vastly missed. The best way by which the younger Spanish defender carried out at Anfield on his first begin within the 1-0 defeat in the beginning of the season spoke volumes.

Mix his presence with Hincapie’s breakthrough, each at centre-back and left-back, and also you sense Arteta has loads of methods he can configure his backline.

Add one other defender to the get together and his choices turn into much more dreamy.

Experiences from Fabrizio Romano again in the summertime advised that Arsenal had an curiosity in Rennes centre-half Jeremy Jacquet.

Properly, in line with Caught Offside, that curiosity very a lot stays. They declare that he’s on the membership’s shortlist heading into 2026 and that ‘casual discussions’ concerning the participant have taken place concerning the participant’s scenario.

The report does state, nonetheless, that no bid has been made but.

Jacquet is valued at round £35m in line with stories again in November. It’s a excessive value for a 20-year-old defender however actually one value paying. For context, Saliba price £27m as an 18-year-old and take a look at him now.

Why Jacquet could be signing

If Arsenal added the younger French centre-back to their squad, then imagine it or not, their defence would get even higher.

This can be a participant very a lot reduce from an analogous material as Saliba. Like Arsenal’s quantity 2, he made his breakthrough as a teen in Ligue 1 and has been incomes rave critiques since.

He’s but to be capped at worldwide degree but it surely absolutely gained’t be lengthy earlier than the younger centre again makes his means into Didier Deschamps’ squad. A transfer to Arsenal may nicely propel his probabilities.

Already described as a participant with “prime 5 centre-back on this planet potential” by scout Ben Mattinson, fellow scout Jacek Kulig suggests he’s an “insane centre-back within the making.” It’s straightforward to see why.

Like Saliba, he performs in a simple method. His composure for somebody so younger is unbelievable. As Mattinson additional outlines, he “performs with a maturity past his years.”

Equally to Saliba, he’s additionally acquired prolonged strides that not solely assist him to get better rapidly and eat up floor swiftly, but it surely additionally means he’s significantly sturdy within the floor duel, successful 62% of his floor battles this season and 60% in 2024/25.

Not simply content material with being tough to beat inside his personal field, Jacquet additionally has a little bit of Gabriel about him. He’s a “dominant” presence from set-pieces, in line with Mattinson, solely including additional attract to this younger defender.

Mentioned to be “scarily gifted” by Mattinson, there may be little or no the Rennes sensation can’t do. From the identical academy as PSG celebrity Want Doue, there may be a lot to love about this 20-year-old.

If Arsenal can get their fingers on him for as small a value as £35m, they’ll have Europe’s subsequent prime centre again, somebody prepared and ready to interchange Saliba.