Unai Emery has suggested that Arsenal are not ready to buy a "second-choice" centre-back to play this season instead of waiting for William Saliba.
Standard Sport understands that Arsenal are close to completing a deal worth around £27million for Saliba, with the defender due to be loaned back to Saint-Etienne for the upcoming season.
The Gunners have been in talks with the French club for a number of weeks after identifying Saliba as a top target, and look to have beaten Tottenham to his signature after late interest from their north London rivals.
The 18-year-old only broke into the Saint-Etienne first team last season but he has done enough to convince Arsenal to move for him.
The deal will be structured using instalments, meaning that Arsenal can keep a portion of their £40m transfer budget to spend on more recruits this summer.
When asked about Arsenal's interest in Saliba following the Gunners' 3-0 International Champions Cup win over Fiorentina, Emery told reporters: "I have patience because we want to choose the best solution.
"Some players are expensive and we are waiting for this possibility. We don’t want now to go to our second choice.
“Here we have spoken with Edu and the Kroenke family. I want to send a message to all our supporters - we’re very happy to be here with a lot of supporters - we are working and preparing. We want to make the best squad possible.”
