Arsenal aren’t short of centre-backs with William Saliba, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhães, Jurrien Timber, Jakub Kiwior and Rob Holding on the books, but Gabriel isn’t starting yet, White often plays right-back, Timber is currently injured, Kiwior has been a makeshift left-back and Holding is surplus to requirements.
The Gunners might scour the transfer market for another defender before the summer transfer window shuts and transfer expert Dean Jones says Mikel Arteta has his eye on Marc Guehi. The 23-year-old is a highly-rated player at Crystal Palace with three years remaining on his deal at Selhurst Park, so he might be a tough acquisition.
Guehi joined Palace from Chelsea in 2021 and has gone on to make 85 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals with one assist. The England international has been linked with a host of clubs after impressing at Selhurst Park, but Jones tells Give Me Sport that Arsenal are the ones leading the charge. However, any potential deal would cost at least £60m.
He said: “The Marc Guehi interest has been there for a while, but Palace have no intention to lose Guehi and value him very, very highly. Earlier in the window I was being told of a £60m valuation. It has probably risen.”
Arsenal have spent a lot of money this summer, bringing in Timber from Ajax, Declan Rice from West Ham United, Kai Havertz from Chelsea and David Raya from Brentford for more than £200m, so it remains to be seen if they’ll match Guehi’s asking price.
Arteta might have to cash in on deadwood to fund a move for the Palace defender, but Jones doesn’t say a bid is imminent. Arsenal have only conceded three goals from as many Premier League games this season, so they don’t have a major issue at the back.
The summer transfer window only has days remaining, so Palace might not want to let such an important player leave without time to source a replacement. Arsenal still have Saliba, Gabriel and White as their first-choice centre-backs while Timber and Kiwior are able squad players, so there is depth when makeshift fullbacks aren’t required.
