Arsenal facing transfer hijack from surprise Premier League rivals: report

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal are by now no strangers to battling Premier League rivals for their top targets during this transfer window.

The Gunners have already been widely reported to be locked in battle with Manchester United over Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres, and similar is true regarding Benjamin Sesko.

But in pursuing a La Liga target, they now have an unexpected competitor from English shores.

Arsenal battle Bournemouth for La Liga defender

The Gunners are weighing up defenders following William Saliba's Real Madrid link (Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal have had to begin considering replacements in the centre of defence after it was revealed by French outlet L’Equipe that Real Madrid are in talks to sign William Saliba – ranked at no.2 in FourFourTwo's list of the best centre-backs in the world right now.

The north London side have identified their target, but it now looks like they’re going to have company in the race to seal the deal.

Arsenal and Bournemouth are both eyeing Valencia man Cristhian Mosquera (Image credit: Cristian Trujillo/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

According to Cadena SER, Arsenal were preparing an offer last month for Valencia centre-back Cristhian Mosquera.

But a fresh report from the same outlet now claims that Bournemouth are also in the frame.

Due to the hierarchy of Premier League football, the Gunners may not often worry about the presence of the Cherries, but the south-coast club’s wallet is bulging this summer, following their sale of Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid and deals progressing for Illya Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez to PSG and Liverpool respectively.

Mosquera’s contract is due to expire next summer, so the two English clubs have a strong negotiating position, but a bidding war could yet drive the price up.

Bournemouth have a clear gap in their defence following the sale of Dean Huijsen (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Arsenal have plenty to worry about in losing this transfer to Bournemouth.

While the Gunners boast a respected Spanish coach in Mikel Arteta, so too do the Cherries in Andoni Iraola, so they have no advantage there.

And while Saliba has been linked with moves away, that hasn’t actually happened yet, whereas Bournemouth have lost Huijsen and appear to be on the cusp of losing Ilya Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain, as per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano – so Mosquera’s path to first-team minutes could be much clearer at the Vitality Stadium.

Mosquera is valued at €30m, according to Transfermarkt.