Arsenal are planning to make an offer for Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo, if recent reports are to be believed.
The Gunners have been extremely active in the first few weeks of the summer transfer window, splashing in excess of £75million to bring in four players, bringing in Brazilian duo Gabriel Jesus and Marquinhos, as well as American shot-stopper Matt Turner and talented Portuguese playmaker Fabio Vieira.
However, technical director Edu is still keen to bolster Mikel Arteta's young squad and football.london understands that a defender is likely to arrive at the Emirates Stadium, providing a number of fringe players can be offloaded.
Versatile Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez has been mooted as a potential target, although Ajax's £43million valuation of the player, combined with Manchester United's interest, could be a stumbling block in any potential deal. One alternative could be Benfica left-back Grimaldo and Correio da Manha, via Sport Witness, now claim that the Gunners are plotting a bid for the Spaniard in the coming days.
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Grimaldo, who has netted a whopping 14 goals and 40 assists from 163 league appearances for Benfica, has less than 12 months remaining on his current contract with the Portuguese giants, who are unlikely to want one of their star players to leave for nothing next summer.
However, the 26-year-old would have to usurp first-choice left-back Kieran Tierney if he did arrive at the Emirates Stadium, a difficult task considering the Scotland international's consistency over the last few seasons. Speaking about Tierney last summer, Arsenal boss Arteta said: "Absolutely, there is another character in this dressing room that transmits every value that I would like to transmit to the club and our fans [and it is Kieran].
"Again, it is young, hungry, talented, and people with huge desire and again he has all four ingredients - and he didn’t want to talk about anything other than staying here.
"He had a really, really good season after a really difficult start at the club and I really value people that when things aren’t going for them, they don’t give up. Kieran didn’t give up, he needed support and I think the club gave him a lot of support, but he was really willing to turn that situation around and prove people wrong if people were doubting him.
"That character, I think it shows on the pitch - when anything happens that is not going for us, you don’t give up, you just raise your level, try to be better and transmit that to the rest of the team so they all believe."
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