Arsenal are interested in Ryan Bertrand but have yet to make a formal approach for the defender, football.london understands.
The Gunners are in the market for a left-back this summer to provide back-up to Kieran Tierney next season, with Sead Kolasinac expected to leave the club permanently once he returns from his loan spell at Schalke.
There is no direct replacement for the Scotland international in the squad as things stand with Granit Xhaka, Cedric and Bukayo Saka all taking turns to fill in for him after he was injured last month.
And now it appears that former Chelsea defender Bertrand is one of the players they are looking at to fill that role in the side.
The 31-year-old confirmed earlier this week that he would leave Southampton when his contract expires at St. Mary's at the end of this season, meaning he will be available on a free transfer.
Despite Stan and Josh Kroenke's promises to invest in the club, the likely absence of European football for the first time in 25 years and the ongoing financial impacts of COVID-19 means that money is likely to be tight around the Emirates this summer.
This would make Bertrand - who has won the Champions League with Chelsea and earned 19 caps for England - an attractive prospect for the Gunners.
AC Milan and Monaco are also reportedly interested but Arsenal will hope the fact that the 31-year-old already lives in London will give them the edge when it comes to any sort of race for his signature.
Bertrand's status as a homegrown player is also something that counts in his favour in terms of transfer targets Mikel Arteta's side would be interested in.
The Gunners are keen to avoid another situation like at the beginning of this season where they fell foul of the Premier League's homegrown quota rules and were forced to leave Mesut Ozil and Sokratis out from the 25-man squad.
It is for this reason that they are also tracking Hibernian's Josh Doig, football.london understands.
At just 18 years old, the Scotland Under-18 international would not contribute to the list of a maximum of 17 foreign players over the age of 21 that Arsenal are allowed in their 25-man list for the Premier League next season.
They face competition from Leicester, though, who are also hopeful of securing the young left-back's signature this summer.
Despite being interested in both, the Gunners are still yet to begin any concrete approach for either full-back as they continue to focus on the end of this season where they still have games against Crystal Palace and Brighton to play.
Any deal will have to wait until at least Wednesday, June 9, when the summer transfer window opens.
