According to recent reports, in addition to Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal are also interested in Manchester City full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko.
That’s according to a recent report from the Daily Mail, who claims Mikel Arteta is eyeing a double summer raid on his former club.
Following the exit of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back in January, the Gunners are in dire need of a striker, especially considering the uncertainty that surrounds Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette, both of whom are out of contract this summer.
However, while the Londoners assess their attacking options, another position that Arteta is believed to be keen to reinforce is the full-back role.
Arsenal set for new full-back?
When it comes to the right-back role, the club have the likes of Nuno Tavares and Kieran Tierney available to them. However, Tavares’ opening campaign has been underwhelming and Tierney continues to be plagued by injuries, so it’s understandable why Arteta may be keen to bring in some cover.
Confirming the extent of Tierney’s most recent injury, Arteta, who spoke with reporters last month, as quoted by Sky Sports, said: “It is a bit ambiguous but he has a significant injury.
“We’ll have to keep assessing him and he will be out for some weeks. It’s an area where he had a previous injury as well. He felt it straight away and is not fit.”
Arsenal’s failure to have Tierney available for large parts of the season has undoubtedly hampered their ability to finish inside the Premier League’s top-four – consequently, one player on the Londoner’s summer wishlist is understood to be recent title winner, Zinchenko.
Signing the Ukraine international probably won’t be easy with Pep Guardiola likely to be reluctant to see too many of his first-team players depart this window.
Not only that, but the 25-year-old still has two years left on his contract so all the negotiating power, this summer, is going to be with the Citizens, as well as the player.
Nevertheless, regardless of whether the Gunners can sign Zinchenko from their rivals, one thing is for sure, fans will definitely be pleased to hear that Arteta has identified the right-back position as a major weakness ahead of next season.
Since joining the club from Russian side Ufa back in 2016, Zinchenko, 25, has gone on to feature in 128 matches, across all competitions, directly contributing to 14 goals along the way.