With Arsenal having previously signed Mesut Ozil and Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid, the club has now reportedly set its sights on yet another Los Blancos star.
The Gunners are now on the verge of missing out on a sensational Premier League title after suffering a crushing 3-0 defeat at home to Brighton Hove Albion on Sunday, with that result ensuring that Manchester City are now just one win away from claiming a fifth league title in the past six seasons.
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Although some fans left the Emirates Stadium early as their titles hopes all but went up in smoke, many remain positive about the side's performances in this campaign, with Arsenal having already registered their most wins (25) in a season since 2004/05.
Having already secured a spot in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League – their first qualification for the continental tournament since the 2015/16 campaign – the club is looking to bring in reinforcements in order to build on their relative success this term.
As such, manager Mikel Arteta is now said to have earmarked Real star Ferland Mendy, who is out of favour under his current boss Carlo Ancelotti, as a potential signing, according to the Daily Mirror.
The north London team has good relationship with the Spanish giants, with the signings of Ozil in 2013 and Odegaard on a permanent deal in 2021 having proved worthy buys, while Dani Ceballos' two-season loan stint a few years ago also worked out relatively well.
Mendy has largely underwhelmed since arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu from Olympique Lyon for a fee of €48 million (R995 million) in 2019, and now looks to have lost his spot in the starting XI to Eduardo Camavinga, who is naturally a midfielder.
However, despite the above, Arteta reportedly remains keen to swoop in for the France international as a back-up to Oleksandr Zinchenko, with Kieran Tierney reportedly set for an imminent move to Newcastle United.
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With Arsenal yet to submit a formal bid, the LaLiga giants are understood to be expecting about £17.5 million (R417 million) for the 27-year-old, who has made 131 appearances to date for the Spanish club.
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