Arsenal are interested in signing German defender Waldemar Anton from Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart, as per TeamTalk.
The Gunners an injury crisis in defence after Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu picked up an injury in their win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.
Arsenal were already being linked with right-backs to provide competition and cover for Ben White in recent weeks, but the need has become much greater.
With the injury to Tomiyasu, Arsenal now have only three fit senior full-backs in White, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Cedric Soares. This has made it evident to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta that his side needs a new full-back and TeamTalk says Anton has emerged as a target.
However, the Gunners will face stiff competition from Premier League rivals as the report says Aston Villa and West Ham are also chasing the German defender.
Anton has been one of the most important players for Stuttgart this season, helping them reach third in the league standing behind only Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.
He is contracted to Stuttgart until 2025, and is already in talks with the club over a potential extension. The versatile defender is capable of playing at centre-back or right-back, and will be an interesting addition to whoever signs him.
Arsenal have been linked with another Bundesliga star in Jeremie Frimpong, whose Bayer Leverkusen side are also interested in signing Anton.
Full-back crisis looming at Arsenal
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have begun the season in excellent fashion and sit atop the league standings with a two-point buffer over Liverpool, and are six points clear of Manchester City.
The Gunners look like they could go all the way this season, but their squad is being stretched by injuries. Last season, the loss of William Saliba and Tomiyasu in March were hugely costly and played a key role in missing out on the title to Man City.
Arteta is going to be reliant on White at right-back until February as Tomiyasu will also go to the Asian Cup in January. Soares is out-of-favour and hasn’t played a first team game this season.
So it’s no surprise to hear Arsenal are eyeing another defender this winter with Anton a target, but we’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks.
