Exclusive: Current situation on Arsenal pursuit of two defensive targets given by transfer expert

So far this summer Arsenal have had one of the best transfer windows, and despite losing Jurrien Timber to an ACL injury, they can still consider their business to have been successful – and they may not be done yet.

Signing Declan Rice for a club record fee along with Kai Havertz, Timber and David Raya is hugely positive and forward thinking from the powers that be at the north London club.

Having been pipped at the post for the Premier League title in 2022/23, the Gunners wasted little time in setting out their intentions in the transfer market, with each player that they went after being landed.

Timber’s injury means that Arteta is light in the right-back slot, and being linked with potential replacements is to be expected.

However, there are unlikely to be two names making their way to the Emirates Stadium anytime soon.

‘Arsenal have been tracking Ivan Fresneda for a long time but they’re not actively working on a deal this summer, at least not right now anyway,’ Fabrizio Romano wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack.

‘[…] I believe the player’s eventual fee will be around €10 – 12 million.

‘As for Benjamin Pavard – it is no secret […] Arsenal were only informed of the conditions of the deal but never actually sent any bid to Bayern.’

That would suggest that Arteta has faith in Takehiro Tomiyasu to cover in Timber’s absence, and even with two weeks left of the current window, that may mean the end of Arsenal’s transfer business this summer.

By the time of the winter window both the manager and sporting director, Edu, should have more of an idea if they have the strength in depth to be able to attack the second half of the season, or whether they’ll have to contemplate more new signings in January.

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