HERE WE GO: Arsenal submit £40m bid to sign defender hailed as 'one of the best in the world'

Arsenal have now tabled an offer to sign a defender who could solve Mikel Arteta’s conundrum at left-back next season.

Given Jurrien Timber missed the majority of last campaign through injury, Arsenal didn’t have sufficient options on the left.

Jakub Kiwior did a stellar job at times, even able to invert into midfield when necessary, but he ultimately proved that he is a centre-back.

Oleksandr Zinchenko, despite his excellent ability on the ball, provided further evidence across the season that he will succumb to poor defensive decisions.

And as far as Kieran Tierney is concerned, there seems no way back for the Scot at Arsenal, even if he is the exact kind of character that Arteta would enjoy.

Tierney just doesn’t fit what Arteta is trying stylistically, although, his injury at Euro 2024 could be prohibitive when it comes to a sale.

That being said, Bologna’s Riccardo Calafiori seems like the perfect profile for Arsenal to add.

The Italian enjoyed a brilliant Euros campaign – recommended to Arsenal by Jorginho.

And according to reports in Italy, Arsenal have now tabled a bid for the left-footer, who can play at centre-back or as a full-back.

Arsenal table £40m offer for Bologna and Italy centre-back Riccardo Calafiori

According to Corriere dello Sport, Arsenal have now submitted a €47m (£40m) offer for Calafiori who is set to leave.

The Italian outlet published the story on the front page of their 03/07 edition with a headline of: “Calafiori auction: Arsenal offers 47 million. Chelsea relaunch.”

Arsenal’s interest has seemed to gather pace very quickly in the past few days, and if these local reports are to be believed, Edu and his team are making their intentions clear.

As mentioned, Chelsea are thought to be in the race for Calafiori too, along with Arne Slot’s Liverpool.

Following his brilliant Euro 2024 campaign, Calafiori was hailed as ‘one of the best in the world’ – a player who all of Europe’s top clubs would be interested in.

Of course, Arsenal fans have been here before with Italian transfer targets, namely Manuel Locatelli back in 2021.

The club reportedly wanted Locatelli at the time, but were unable to compete with Juventus who have an unrivalled pull in the Serie A.