Arsenal are looking to bring another centre-back to the club for cover, pipping Tottenham to a target
(Image credit: Dave Howarth - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Arsenal are ready to bring in another centre-back, as Mikel Arteta bolstered his backline and fixes a problem position.
The Gunners were dealt a terrible double blow in their Europa League knockout fixture with Sporting at the Emirates Stadium this season when William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu were both injured. Saliba is short of fitness and set to miss this week's crunch clash with Manchester City, while Tomiyasu is out for the season.
With Rob Holding stepping into defence, Arsenal have been significantly weaker at the back and now look set to bring in another defender to provide cover.
Arsenal have been weaker without Saliba at the back (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
According to Croatian outlet 24 Sata, Arsenal are set to bring Dinamo Zagreb defender, Josip Sutalo, to the Emirates Stadium to plug a hole in their defence.
The 22-year-old is capable of operating at right-back, too, making him similar stylistically to both Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, the latter of whom has suffered with consistent injuries since arriving in London from Bologna in the summer of 2021.
Croatian international Sutalo has a release clause set of €20 million, with the north Londoners having already spoken to his club about signing him. Sutalo is reportedly interested in return.
TuttoMercatoWeb, meanwhile, reported in November of last year that Arsenal's closest rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, were interested in the centre-back.
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Josip Sutalo is an option for Arsenal this summer. (Image credit: Adam Pretty - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The Gunners have five centre-backs in White, Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Saliba and Holding – though the former two play more on the right, with Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko options at left-back.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
