Arsenal keep close eye on star subject of Tottenham transfer mistake to fix new priority position
Arsenal are expanding their shortlist of potential right-back targets and it now includes a former Tottenham man who could become available in the summer, according to a report.
Finding a new right-back has suddenly become a priority for Arsenal ahead of the summer transfer window. At the start of the season, it was thought that new signing Takehiro Tomiyasu would be the regular starter there, with Cedric Soares in support.
In actual fact, Benjamin White has taken on most of the responsibility there after being shifted out to a full-back role to accommodate William Saliba at centre-half.
Arsenal proceeded to loan Cedric out to Fulham in January, before seeing Tomiyasu suffer a season-ending injury recently. Hence, there is a lack of natural depth at right-back.
With that in mind, it is one of the positions Arsenal are hoping to strengthen in the summer. For example, they have been targeting a move for Real Valladolid prospect, Ivan Fresneda.
After confirming their focus on the Spaniard, an update from Give Me Sport has revealed that Arsenal are also considering a swoop for Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters.
According to a report by Dean Jones, Arsenal are confident they would have a chance of signing Walker-Peters in the event of Southampton suffering relegation.
Southampton are currently bottom of the Premier League, but still have 10 games to fight for their future. They are only a few points away from safety, but they have been in the bottom three since November, so their prospects don’t look too good.
There are a few players in their squad worthy of staying in the top tier, though, such as James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia. Walker-Peters has also done enough to deserve to be in that category.
Walker-Peters worthy of Premier League stay
This season, the 25-year-old has played 28 times in all competitions. Along the way, he has caught the attention of some bigger clubs.
For example, in January he was linked with Man Utd. Now, Arsenal seem to be in with a chance of luring him away from St. Mary’s Stadium in the summer.
It would be an intriguing move, especially because Walker-Peters used to play for their north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur. He joined Spurs’ youth ranks in 2013 and then earned 24 senior appearances between 2017 and 2020.
Southampton took him from that point on, giving him 110 appearances since and developing him into a member of the senior England national team.
Tottenham have struggled to settle on a preferred right-back ever since, while Walker-Peters has been thriving.
His contract on the South Coast is due to last until 2025, but relegation could end his spell there. There probably ought to be a few clubs eyeing him, but Arsenal could be contenders.
The report from Give Me Sport also mentions Fresneda, Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong and Wolfsburg’s Ridle Baku as options on Arsenal’s list.
There is also a hint that they could be considering Premier League players in similar situations to Walker-Peters, in terms of who they could swoop for from clubs at risk of relegation.
