Arsenal interested in £4k-p/w ace who Gabriel Martinelli terrorised

Arsenal are reportedly interested in yet another defender for Mikel Arteta – and it is someone who has grim memories of Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal rescue win late on

After seemingly being in control at 2-0 up midway through their clash with Leicester City, Arsenal needed two stoppage-time goals to go level on points with Manchester City in the Premier League.

Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard put them in the driving seat, but a complacent second half saw them pegged back to 2-2 thanks to two goals from Leicester defender James Justin.

Heroics from Mads Hermansen threatened to deny Arsenal, with the Foxes goalkeeper making 13 saves to keep his side in the game.

However, he was eventually beaten as a set-piece took a deflection off Wilfred Ndidi deep in stoppage time, before Kai Havertz added a fourth with the last kick of the game to ensure all three points for Arsenal, which moved them within a point behind league leaders Liverpool after six games.

“It got nasty, it got difficult, it was emotionally difficult to accept with the amount of situations that we created and the amount of goals that we should have scored,” Mikel Arteta explained after the game.

“They scored two goals. But I’m really happy with how we dealt with that situation after. Emotionally super controlled, doing what we had to do, how consistently we attacked the spaces. I think we deserved to win the game,” the Gunners boss added.

Two recent additions in Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber played key roles at the back for Arsenal, but now reports claim that the Gunners are looking to add to their options in defence.

Arsenal eye up Sevilla ace

According to CaughtOffside, Arsenal are one of three Premier League sides keeping tabs on Sevilla defender Juanlu Sanchez.

Arsenal fans may recall the 21-year-old’s previous visit to the club when the two sides met in the Champions League last season, with the defender struggling against the pace of Martinelli.

In fact, the defender was dribbled past eight times – a Champions League record since the 2016 season – and won just 8 of his 19 duels against the Gunners, capping off a tough evening by picking up a yellow card.

But now, he is a man in demand, with the report claiming that Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham are keeping tabs on the youngster, who has played in a variety of positions throughout his career, including across the right flank.

Sanchez is down to the final two years of his £4,000-a-week deal in Seville, and it is claimed that the Spanish outfit would be willing to accept €25m (£20.9m) to part ways with him this year rather than losing him for free the following summer.

It is added that “the Sevilla talent is open to leaving the club ahead of the 2025/26 campaign”, which could make a deal all the more feasible, though it is likely any move from Arsenal would likely need to see one of Takehiro Tomiyasu or Oleksandr Zinchenko depart given the options already at Mikel Arteta’s disposal.