Arsenal are interested in signing Merih Demiral from Juventus, with scouts deployed to take a look at the centre-back.
The Daily Star say that Mikel Arteta has made signing another central defender his priority for Arsenal, as he looks to bolster his squad.
Many Arsenal fans have been calling for a playmaker to be added to their team, but it seems that Arteta would rather have a defender.
Demiral has now emerged on their wishlist, with Gunners scouts heading to Italy to track the Turkish defender.
Demiral is highly regarded at Juventus, even though he is yet to become a true first-team regular.
The 22-year-old, who Brendan Rodgers has called ‘very good’ (Leicester Mercury), has been linked with a number of Premier League sides, and it appears that Arsenal are now in the hunt.
Arteta already has plenty of options at centre-back, but many of his current choices in the position have proven not to be up to the standard required.
If Demiral, who is valued at £34 million (Calcio Mercato), could join and link up with Gabriel then Arsenal would have a potentially rock solid partnership to build around for years ahead.
However, Juve have stood firm in their desire to keep Demiral to date, and Arsenal could struggle to finance a deal in the new year.
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