Arsenal, West Ham in battle to land £22m Bundesliga centre-back

Arsenal are reportedly ready to battle West Ham for £22million-rated Frankfurt defender Martin Hinteregger in a bid to shore up their leaky defence.

Upgrading his defence is said to be Unai Emery’s main priority in the January window – if he survives that long – and the Austrian international is believed to be a major target.

The 27-year-old, who has won 44 caps for his country, plays as a left-sided centre-back and has played in all 12 of Frankfurt’s games this season – including their 3-0 Europa League defeat against Arsenal.

Despite shipping three goals in that game, Gunners officials are thought to be impressed by Hinteregger’s play, while he also put in a hugely impressive display in the shock 5-1 Bundesliga win over Bayern Munich.

 

Arsenal will have another chance to watch Hinteregger up close and personal on November 28 – in the reverse Europa League fixture at The Emirates.

Arsenal have already conceded 15 times in just 11 Premier League games this season – with David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi all struggling.

But Emery is expected to face competition for the player, with West Ham also long-term admirers of the centre-back, according to Football Insider.