Arsenal are keen to sign a right-back this summer to challenge Takehiro Tomiyasu, according to recent reports.
Tomiyasu joined the club from Serie A outfit Bologna back in August and has been a revelation ever since, possessing a rare blend of intelligent reading of the game with progressive passing from the back.
However, the Japanese international doesn't have much competition, with Portuguese fullback Cedric Soares struggling for consistency since arriving at the Emirates Stadium just over two years ago.
Now, according to Goal, the Gunners hold an interest in Middlesbrough star Djed Spence, who is currently on loan with fellow-Championship side Nottingham Forest.
Spence was instrumental during Forest's 1-0 win against Mikel Arteta's men in the third round of the FA Cup last month and ESPN even claimed that Arsenal's local rivals Tottenham Hotspur had two bids rejected for the Englishman's services during the January transfer window.
Still, the Gunners have a history of beating their Spurs to players, completing the signing of highly-rated French defender William Saliba over the Lillywhites back in 2019.
If they really are interested in Spence, who Ian Wright rates extremely highly, Arteta and Co will hope they can convince the 21-year-old to choose the Emirates over the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Speaking on Wrighty’s House podcast, he said: "I saw him after the game and said 'listen, my friend. You're on loan from Middlesbrough and I don't know what's happened there, because if you can't get into the Middlesbrough side, I don't know what's wrong, so I need to know the full story'.
"But let me say, that was one of the best right back performances I have seen for a very long time. A very long time.
"If we are talking about right-backs performing at an unbelievable level, we're talking Reece James and Trent [Alexander-Arnold].
"But I have not seen a combative, technical, swashbuckling performance like that for a very long time.
"I said to him afterwards, 'whatever's happening, whatever you're doing, the level you've just shown us here is the level you have to be consistently hitting, Djed'.
“I said ‘All seriously, that level what I saw there, you should be in the Premier League’.”
