What Chelsea are reportedly planning to do in the summer transfer window could have a big impact on Mikel Arteta's plans at Arsenal next season.
Spanish news outlet AS Sport are reporting that Thomas Tuchel has called on the Blues to go all out to try and sign Real Madrid defender Eder Militao, who is valued at £54million on transfermarkt.
Chelsea could be set to lose three central defenders at the end of the season, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen seeing their respective contracts expire in the summer.
With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that the three defenders could leave Stamford Bridge.
So, it seems fairly certain that Tuchel will target a centre-back when the summer transfer window opens and Militao could be the man he turns to.
The 24-year-old still has three-and-a-half years remaining on his contract with Real Madrid and remains a key player under Carlo Ancelotti, but Tuchel is reportedly keen on luring him away from the Spanish capital.
Any move from Chelsea for Militao could have a big impact on Arsenal's plans for next season. According to a report from Calciomercato, Real Madrid are interested in Gunners' on-loan defender William Saliba.
The 20-year-old is currently on a season-long loan at Marseille and has been very impressive with the French club.
football.london understands that Saliba's intention is to return to the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season where he looks to become a regular fixture under Arteta.
It seems Arteta's feelings towards Saliba is mutual, with the Arsenal boss confirming his plans recently.
He said: "He will come back for pre-season and he will be with us. Hopefully he will come back after playing a number of games and his performance raising and his development progressing in the right way. That is why we made that decision.
"I know that sometimes it's difficult to explain or understand after the money that the club has spent trying to bring him in, to send him on loan."
So, indeed, if Chelsea are to land Militao, who is very highly-rated at Los Blancos, then the La Liga leaders could look to Arsenal to try and land Saliba.
As we have seen in the past on several occasions, when a club with the stature of Real Madrid come knocking for a player they want, it is extremely difficult for sides to keep hold of their stars due to the pulling power of the Spanish giants.
