Arsenal planning winter swoop for £43m-rated Spanish defender: report

Arsenal are understood to be planning a winter approach for Villarreal ace Pau Torres as they seek to strengthen their options in the central defensive position.

The north London giants have experienced a mixed beginning to the 2019/2020 Premier League season and they are already eight points adrift of the top four.

This has partly resulted from a leaky defence which has kept just two clean sheets while conceding 17 goals from just 12 games in the current top-flight campaign.

According to The Sun, Gunners boss Unai Emery is understood to hold the desire to bolster the central defensive department in the New Year and Torres has been earmarked as the prime target.

The same outlet claims that the Spanish defender has a £43m release clause on his existing Villarreal deal and the Gunners are willing to match that price, provided they can negotiate an instalment package after paying an initial fee.

Torres prefers to have the ball at his feet and he has the tendency to play out from the back. He has also been effective in intercepting the opponent with timely challenges but there remains the room for improvement in terms of the aerial duels.

With the physical demands of the Premier League, his aerial ability remains a cause for concern in the long run and the Gunners could be better suited to sign someone like Juventus’ Merih Demiral, who has a stronger presence in the air.

As per Whoscored, Torres has won an average of 1.2 aerial duels from his 13 league appearances this season. In comparison, Demiral has won 5 aerial duels from his only league outing for the Bianconeri.

Demiral has recently been linked with a potential move to the Emirates Stadium. The centre-back is said to be assessing his future at the Bianconeri after making just one appearance since joining the club over the summer.