Arsenal now "ready to enter" race to sign 25yo star with £40m asking price

Arsenal are ready to join Manchester City in the race to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, according to The Mirror.

The Gunners were keen on landing the 25-year-old centre-back last summer, but they turned their attention to pursuing alternative targets instead.

Cristhian Mosquera was purchased from Valencia, while Piero Hincapie was signed on loan with a conditional obligation to buy from Bayer Leverkusen.

Despite this, Arsenal still hold a long-term interest in Guehi, and The Mirror claim that they are ‘ready to enter’ the race to sign the highly-rated Englishman.

It is still unclear whether Arsenal would be willing to make a bid this winter or bide their time until the summer, when Guehi’s contract at Palace expires.

As a result, Manchester City are still in the box seat to land his services, but he won’t come on the cheap with Palace still likely to demand around £40 million.

The centre-back could also hold out for a huge salary with his current contract expiring on June 30

Arsenal more likely to pursue summer deal for Guehi

The former Chelsea graduate has developed into one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League. He has shown his leadership qualities during his time at the Eagles.

In the current season, Guehi has won 64 percent of his duels with 5.2 clearances, 4.4 recoveries and 1.5 tackles per game. He has helped his club keep seven clean sheets.

Guehi has a decent passing accuracy of 85 percent. His distribution statistics should only improve when he plays for a more possession-based outfit such as Arsenal or Man City.

Man City are obviously in a desperate position with Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias picking up lengthy injuries, and could be prepared to meet Palace’s valuation to sign Guehi this month.

Arsenal, on the other hand, are well-equipped in central defence. They have William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber, Piero Hincapie, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera as options.

Calafiori and Mosquera are currently injured, but manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that the duo are entering the final phase of their rehabilitation and could be available for selection very soon.

Hence, it seems unlikely that Arsenal will pay close to £40m for Guehi’s services. They could wait until the summer to land him on a free transfer. It may also depend on a high-profile departure of another centre-back.

Man City are in pole position to land Guehi if he opts to leave Palace this winter.

Stats from Sofascore.com

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