Arsenal are interested in signing Medhi Benatia

Unai Emery is targeting central defenders this summer

Arsenal endured an underwhelming season as they failed to win any silverware in Arsene Wenger’s final campaign. They finished 6th in the Premier League, reached the Carabao Cup final and the Europa League semi-final.

Unai Emery has been appointed as the new manager of the Gunners and is expected to be very busy in the summer transfer window in order to strengthen the squad for next season.

The Spaniard has already completed the signings of Stephan Lichtsteiner and Bernd Leno. The club is also close to signing Sampdoria midfielder Lucas Torreira.

He has prioritized signing central defenders this summer and is desperate to bolster his defensive line up for the next season. Laurent Koscielny is out for more 5 months, Per Mertesacker has retired at the end of the season and Shkodran Mustafi has had a difficult campaign last season.

Arsenal are interested in signing Juventus centre-back Medhi Benatia, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

The 31 year joined the Turin side from Bayern Munich on a season-long loan for €3 million, with an option to buy for an extra €17 million at the end of season. On 12 May, they exercised the option to permanently sign him until 2020.

The defender has enjoyed a successful period with them, winning 2 Serie A titles and has been a mainstay in the team. But he struggled for game time last season, managing to make only 32 appearances in all competitions.

There were reports that the Moroccan ace has fallen out with the Serie A giants manager Massimiliano Allegri and has been heavily linked with a summer exit. The club are reportedly already looking for his replacements.

He is with the Morocco squad at the World Cup in Russia and it is expected a decision could be made on his future after it is over.

The Premier League giants have also been linked with a move for Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Freiburg star Caglar Syouncu and Porto ace Miguel Layun.