Arsenal face two big blows as Mikel Arteta eyes Manchester United hijack

Yesterday, we revealed that Mikel Arteta aimed to sign Benjamin Pavard from Bayern Munich. It’s thought the French defender is the ideal alternative to Jurrien Timber, who is set to miss a big chunk of this season through injury. However, the deal won’t be easy for Arsenal to complete.

Arsenal face TWO big blows as they plot Manchester United hijack

According to Sky Sports Italia, there have been two major blows issued to Mikel Arteta for his target. Firstly, there is further competition (on top of that from Manchester United) for Pavard, with Inter Milan interested. Secondly, Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel would like to continue working with Benjamin Pavard, so will try to prevent him from leaving.

While this doesn’t mean the deal is off, the odds have moved further out of Arsenal’s favour. Still, boss Mikel Arteta is not the type to give up on his plans due to some slight complications. He will keep his eyes on Benjamin Pavard but, as always, have backup options.

The successes of Arsenal in recent transfer windows have been a result of their ability to find adequate backup options in case things go wrong. For example, Zinchenko being a backup to Martinez, Trossard being a backup to Mudryk and Timber being a backup to Cancelo.

Who Arsenal are targeting remains to be seen. However, Mikel Arteta is certainly not resting on his laurels and is considering the best route to take to replace Jurrien Timber. The Dutch defender has had an amazing pre-season, so it’s a shame to see him injured in his competitive debut.Earlier, we reported that Reuell Walters is being considered as a direct replacement for Timber, which would relieve Arsenal the onus of extensive work in the transfer window.