ARSENAL are eyeing up a move for Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte, according to reports.
The Gunners suffered a major blow over the weekend as new signing Jurrien Timber limped off with a knee injury during their 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
The Dutchman, 22, was set to be used across the back line as he can play at both full-back and centre-half.
But now reports claim he could face MONTHS on the sideline.
And that means Mikel Arteta is expected to dip into the transfer market once more.
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According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Laporte, 29, who won the Treble with Man City last season, is a name on Arsenal's radar.
However, following the deals for Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko 12 months ago, it remains a tough ask to convince Pep Guardiola's men to sell another star to their title rivals.
Romano told Caught Offside: "The knee injury for Jurrien Timber is a serious problem for Arsenal, so we’ll have to see who could be on their list now.
"We wish the best to Timber, let’s hope it won’t be a long injury, but it looks like a significant one, so Arsenal will explore the market.
"Earlier in the summer, Arsenal looked at bringing in a ‘traditional’ centre-back, more than a versatile player like Timber, who can play everywhere in defence.
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"One player they appreciate is Aymeric Laporte – the rumours are true in the sense that he is liked by Arsenal, but the problem is Manchester City don’t want to sell another player to Arsenal, they prefer another destination for him, so let’s see if Arsenal return for Laporte or if they try to replace Timber with a full-back instead.
"Internal discussions will take place on that, with Mikel Arteta involved."
Laporte came off the bench in Man City's Premier League opener as they beat Burnley 3-0 at Turf Moor on Friday.
But he started just 11 league games last season as Guardiola preferred the likes of Ruben Dias, Nathan Akanji, John Stones and Nathan Ake.
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The Spaniard has also been linked with a move to Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Romano revealed that Timber's injury does not impact Kieran Tierney - who is still understood to be on the market.
The Scot, 26, who has been linked with a loan move to Newcastle, has seen his game time reduce significantly since the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko at the beginning of last season.
And Romano said: "For now, my understanding is that there is no change on Kieran Tierney despite this news – the Scottish left-back remains available on the market but Arsenal insist on a permanent transfer rather than a loan deal."
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