According to The Telegraph, Arsenal are set to join the race to sign Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake in the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

After the desperately unfortunate knee injury suffered by Calum Chambers which has ruled him out for up to nine months, the Gunners’ transfer plans for this month appears to have changed course. Mikel Arteta admitted that the club may now have to dip into the market for a new defender, and according to The Telegraph, that man could be Ake.

The report claims that the Gunners are set to compete with as many as five Premier League clubs for the Netherlands defender’s signature. It adds that his former side Chelsea remain favourites to sign him thanks to an agreement that means they can do so for £40m, although the Blues are “facing the growing threat of competition for Ake if they do not complete the signing early in this month’s transfer window”.

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Ake is considered to be high up on Arsenal’s shortlist of targets at centre-back, along with RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano and Juventus’ Daniel Rugani.

Major coup

Make no mistake about it, fending off competition from the likes of Chelsea for Ake’s signature would be a coup for the Gunners. The north London side have already conceded 30 goals in 21 games in the Premier League this season, and whilst there were some signs of improvement with a clean sheet against Manchester United on New Year’s Day, defensive reinforcements would no doubt be welcome.

And with years of top-flight experience to his name (he has played 133 times in the Premier League), Ake would represent more of a guarantee of success than a move for the likes of Upamecano and Rugani who are unproven in English football. Speaking last January, Cherries boss Eddie Howe hailed the 24-year-old for his major improvements since joining the club from Stamford Bridge.

“We love working with him, we think he’s got outstanding attributes, he’s getting better and better in his position.”

Perhaps intriguingly for the Gunners, Ake has been publicly outspoken in his praise of current Arsenal defender David Luiz. The former revealed how much of an influence the Brazilian was in his time at Chelsea, and admitted that he looked up to him.

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“We played a few times together and he was a very good guy for me – he always used to help me, talk with me. When I was there, I was always looking at the way he played. He’s very good on the ball with both feet.”

Reuniting Ake with Luiz at the Emirates could form a centre-back partnership that would almost be a double whammy to their rivals Chelsea. Getting a deal done in January could be an Arteta masterstroke.

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans have lauded this man’s outstanding performance against Manchester United.