Arsenal are reportedly set to increase their offer for Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney as Unai Emery looks to shore up his leaky defence.
The Gunners conceded 51 goals in 38 Premier League games last season, giving them the second worst defensive record of the top nine sides in the standings.
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In turn, while they appear to be on the verge of wrapping up a £72m move for Lille winger Nicolas Pepe, as per BBC Sport, they still need to address their weakness at the other end of the pitch.
As noted by Sky Sports, they have seemingly secured a long-term solution in the form of William Saliba, but given he is set to return to Saint Etienne on loan this coming season, Emery will surely be keen to strengthen his options at the back before the transfer deadline next week.
While he won’t solve the issue in central defence with this particular swoop, The Express report that Arsenal are ready to launch a third bid for £30m-rated Tierney, with the previous offer said to be around £25m.
Whether it will be enough to finally convince Celtic to sell remains to be seen though, as ultimately the 22-year-old has undoubtedly shown his quality and importance to Celtic in recent years.
Should he arrive, Tierney will offer real competition for places at left-back alongside Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac, and so that will undoubtedly give Emery a selection headache moving forward.
Nevertheless, coupled with the arrival of Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid for the season, the Gunners are now starting to put together an improved squad with key additions being made this summer in all departments.
In turn, Emery will hope that it’s enough to address their flaws from last year and break back into the top four in the Premier League after a bitterly disappointing first campaign in charge at the Emirates ended with no Champions League qualification and no trophies to show for their efforts.
