Arsenal to step up Upamecano chase?

Arsenal are apparently preparing to step up their interest in Dayot Upamecano. According to Jonathan Cross of Mirror, the RB Leipzig defender is at the top of their wish-list, and the club intend to provide manager Mikel Arteta with necessary funds to fix the gaping issues in his back line.

The Gunners’ defence has been an object of much criticism in recent years, bordering even on ridicule. Their latest attempt at sorting the problem out was the signing of David Luiz from Chelsea to replace former captain Laurent Koscielny in the summer, but the Brazilian clearly hasn’t made the desired impact.

At age of 21, Upamecano is widely perceived as one of the next great centre-backs and Arteta appears keen to make him and William Saliba, currently on loan at St Etienne, the heart of Arsenal’s defence for the future. Calum Chambers has suffered a knee injury in the shocking defeat to Chelsea on Sunday, and almost every defender on the North London club’s books has had injuries recently.