Arsenal are frantically looking for a central defender and have made a late enquiry over the availability of Wolves target Pape Abou Cisse.
Arsenal’s search for a centre-back is set to go down to the wire. With the transfer deadline on Thursday, there’s not much time left for the Gunners to try and sign a decent player. According to Italian journalist Emanuele Giulianelli, Arsenal have made a late enquiry for Olympiacos’ towering centre-back Pape Abou Cisse. They could complete a deal before deadline day.
Pape Cisse was enquired about a couple of weeks ago so they may go back for him if nothing else comes up #Arsenal #TransferNews
— Emanuele Giulianelli (@EmaGiulianelli) August 7, 2019
Pape Cisse has a promising future ahead of him. The towering centre-half recently featured for Senegal as they lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Algeria. Many clubs have made enquiries for Cisse, and the defender is thought to be open to a move this summer. Wolves were considered to be close to signing him earlier in a £10 million move, although their stance has gone cold since.
Cisse is a young prospect and Arsenal are thought to be interested after making their own enquiries over the defender. The Gunners were not considered to be serious in their pursuit as they are chasing several other defenders to shore up their backline. Dayot Upamecano is thought to be a priority target, but RB Leipzig have reportedly rejected a second offer from Arsenal.
Arsenal are thought to be considering Cisse as a fallback option in case they are not able to sign their priority targets. The understanding is that they might make a late offer for Cisse before the transfer deadline and try to bring him to balance the defence. Arsenal did make one defensive signing in William Saliba, who has been sent back to Saint-Etienne on loan for the season.
Despite Arsenal’s outlay on midfield and attacking options, they have significant problems in defence as they head into the new season. Kieran Tierney is still linked with a move despite Arsenal failing in several attempts to sign the left-back from Celtic.
However, while there are two established players available at the club to cover the left-back area, Arsenal do not have the necessary players at the heart of the defence. Laurent Koscielny recently left for Bordeaux after nine years at the club, and Shkodran Mustafi is not thought to be good enough.
Cisse could be a good signing the same way he could have flourished at Wolves. But, the fact that Wolves have not made further concrete moves to make Cisse their player could give Arsenal a chance to sign him. However, Emery remains cautious over the centre-half and might only turn to him if his priority targets cannot be signed.
