Unai Emery has increased efforts to solve Arsenal's defensive problems, by sending scouts to cast an eye over Dayot Upamecano.
The 20-year-old has impressed this season for club side RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, and Emery feels the youngster could be a cheaper alternative to Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti .
Arsenal have been knocked back in their interest in Umtiti, who is keen to stay at the Nou Camp and see out the remaining four years on his contract.
Now Emery has been forced to look elsewhere for viable options, and, following the Gunners' failure to qualify for next season's Champions League, more affordable ones.
The Spanish boss sent scouts to watch Upamecano on Monday night, where he featured for France's under-21's side in Le Mans, playing over 70 minutes of their 3-0 win over Belgium.
Leipzig are not thought to be keen on losing Upamecano, who still has two years remaining of his current deal with the club.
He also helped the side secure Champions League football next season - something which Arsenal can't offer - but he could still be lured by the chance to play in the Premier League.
Sampdoria's Joachim Anderson has also emerged as a target for the Gunners, and would cost around half the price of Umtiti, who would blow most of their £50m transfer budget.
Emery is hoping to free up funds by offloading some of his squad, with Stephan Lichtsteiner already on his way.
Laurent Koscielny, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Shkodran Mustafi could also be shown the exit door, as all could still command decent fees and are deemed to have short-term futures at the club.
Ideally Emery would like the Gunners to sell Mesut Ozil, with his mammoth wages crippling the clubs budget, but so far no potential suitors have come forward.
The only players attracting any real interest are ones that Emery wants to keep, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has been linked with a move to China.
