Arsenal are still looking to add to their squad before the transfer window shuts, despite signing seven players already this summer.
The Gunners have been as active as they ever have been in the market, spending in excess of £250 million to bolster Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Viktor Gyokeres arrived for £63 million from Sporting CP as the marquee addition, while the likes of Eberechi Eze and Martin Zubimendi were also acquired in big-money moves.
Andrea Berta still wants to sign Piero Hincapie, but he’s also looking to add one or two youth players to strengthen the Gunners’ academy.
Arsenal interested in Jon Martin and Caleb Yirenkyi
Arsenal have the best centre-back partnership in world football at their disposal.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have formed an impenetrable relationship in recent years, and thus, recruiting players to back them up has been difficult.
Cristhian Mosquera has arrived from Sevilla for £13 million to provide the pair with some cover and competition, but Berta is keen on adding some even younger players who have the potential to usurp the established duo in the future.
According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal’s recruitment department have watched two specific young centre-backs over recent months, Real Sociedad’s Jon Martin and Nordsjaelland’s Caleb Yirenkyi.
Martin broke through into the Sociedad first team last season, making 17 appearances across all competitions for the Basque side.
Exceptional on the ball and imposing at 6’2, the 19-year-old has already been capped by Spain’s under-19s.
Meanwhile, Yirenkyi moved to Denmark from Ghana when he turned 18 in January 2024, joining Nordsjaelland.
He’s made 23 appearances for the Danish side’s first team, while also earning two caps for the Black Stars national team, despite only turning 19 earlier this year.
Arsenal are eager to add more talent to their academy, which they can develop in the long run, and the aforementioned two are their primary centre-back targets.
Marli Salmon won’t be happy about Arsenal’s interest in Martin and Yirenkyi
Marli Salmon was part of Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia this summer.
The 15-year-old centre-back is highly thought of within Hale End, and impressed in his short cameos in Singapore.
While he’s still a long way off breaking into the first team, Salmon will hope a clear pathway to senior minutes is set out for him, if he’s to commit his future to Arsenal when he’s old enough to sign a professional contract.
If the Gunners bring in the likes of Martin and Yirenkyi, the Hale End starlet will instantly face more of an uphill battle to eventually become a senior player at the Emirates.
The two will block his pathway, and thus, he is unlikely to be ecstatic at the news that Arsenal are actively looking to add more young centre-backs to their squad.
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