Arsenal have held talks with the representatives of RB Leipzig defender Benjamin Henrichs as manager Mikel Arteta eyes a new backup target.
Who are Arsenal signing this summer?
The Gunners have been moving swiftly in one of their most hectic transfer windows of the last decade, having already signed Kai Havertz from Chelsea in a deal worth £65 million.
Havertz will inject some much-needed versatility and quality into Arsenal’s attacking areas, with Arteta expressing his delight at the Germany international’s signing.
“Kai is a player of top quality,” explained the Arsenal boss.
“He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play.
“We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon.”
The north Londoners, meanwhile, are thought to be nearing the captures of both Ajax defender Jurrien Timber and West Ham United star Declan Rice, having agreed a total £105m fee for the latter player after weeks of negotiations.
Full-back is an area Arsenal will look to bolster as well, with reports out of Germany suggesting that Man City star Joao Cancelo and Galatasary’s Sacha Boey among the candidates.
Henrichs is also linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, as now backed by Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, who says Arsenal talks have been held with his entourage.
Arteta is personally a big fan of the Germany international, with Plettenberg describing Henrichs as an “important” player for Leipzig.
Who is Benjamin Henrichs?
The 26-year-old has been given rave reviews in past seasons, with the Bundesliga’s official website even once likening him to Bayern Munich superstar Joshua Kimmich.
They wrote:
“With his ability to play at both full-back and in defensive midfield, the similarities with Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich make for an obvious comparison. Yet the players share more than just positional versatility: both are quick, aggressive in the tackle, able to spray diagonal passes into the feet of a teammate on the other side of the pitch, or curl pinpoint crosses into the box on regular forays forward.”
Meanwhile, Henrichs has also been called exceptional by former Bayer Leverkusen head coach Roger Schmidt, who said it’s “unbelievably difficult” to get past him.
Schmidt branded the defender “absolutely top class” in a glowing endorsement which will surely entice Arsenal supporters.
“He’s got exceptional defensive qualities,” said Schmidt.
“It’s unbelievably difficult to get past him. He’s absolutely top-class. We all know how hard it is to defend against players like Heung-Min Son and Ousmane Dembele…but it’s just very hard to get the better of Benny.”