Arsenal in talks to sign £35m defender

No more defenders, Mikel, are you sure? When Arsenal signed Piero Hincapie and Cristian Mosquera over the summer, you could hear the wry laughs.

The Gunners strengthened their forward line in the last transfer window, but it is very rare for a deal to go ahead without Mikel Arteta spending on defense.

Well, thank goodness they did. Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White have already missed a good part of the season while William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristian Mosquera have also missed matches due to injuries.

This leaves Arsenal in a tricky situation. Christian Norgaard replaced centre-back against Club Brugge a few weeks ago while Declan Rice even played at right-back against Brighton last weekend.

So it’s no surprise that they’re targeting more defenders by 2026.

Arsenal pursue highly-rated defender

Despite the injuries, Arsenal’s rearguard looks well prepared for the future.

Mosquera joined the Arsenal squad with relative ease and ensured that when Saliba was away he was not missed immensely. The way the young Spanish defender performed at Anfield on his first start in the 1-0 defeat at the start of the season speaks volumes.

Combine his presence with the breakthrough of Hincapie, both at centre-back and left-back, and you feel Arteta has plenty of ways to set up his back line.

Add another defender to the group and his options become even dreamier.

Reports from Fabrizio Romano this summer suggested that Arsenal were interested in Rennes centre-half Jeremy Jacquet.

Well, according to Caught Offside, that interest remains. They claim he is on the club’s shortlist until 2026 and that “informal discussions” about the player have taken place regarding the player’s situation.

The report, however, indicates that no offers have yet been submitted.

Jacquet is valued at around £35m according to reports from November. That’s a steep price for a 20-year-old defender, but it’s certainly worth paying. For context, Saliba cost £27m at the age of 18 and look at him now.

Why Jacquet would be a good signing

If Arsenal added the young French center back to their squad, then believe it or not, their defense would be even better.

This is a player very much cut from the same cloth as Saliba. As Arsenal’s number 2, he made his breakthrough as a teenager in Ligue 1 and has been receiving rave reviews ever since.

He has not yet been selected at international level but the young central defender will surely soon join Didier Deschamps’ team. A move to Arsenal could well boost his chances.

Already described as one of the players with “top five center back potential in the world” by scout Ben Mattinson, fellow scout Jacek Kulig suggests he is a “crazy center back in the making”. It’s easy to understand why.

Like Saliba, he plays effortlessly. His composure for someone so young is incredible. As Mattinson points out, he “plays with a maturity beyond his years.”

Like Saliba, he also has long strides which not only help him recover quickly and eat up ground quickly, but it also means he is particularly strong in ground duels, winning 62% of his ground fights this season and 60% in 2024/25.

Not only is Jacquet content to be difficult to beat in his own box, he also has a bit of Gabriel in him. He’s a “dominant” presence on set pieces, according to Mattinson, which only adds even more appeal to this young defender.

Considered “frighteningly talented” by Mattinson, the Rennes sensation can’t do much. Coming from the same academy as PSG superstar Désiré Doué, there’s a lot to like about this 20-year-old.

If Arsenal can get their hands on him for as low as £35million, they will have Europe’s next central defender, someone ready and waiting to replace Saliba.