Just last close season, Arsenal were facing a centre back crisis until a stack of injuries forced Arsene Wenger into the transfer market, where he bit the bullet and splashed the cash on German international defender Shkodran Mustafi as Laurent Koscielny’s centre back partner.

So far this season, this CB combo has been the best defensive pairing in the Premier League and its thought that Per Mertesacker will struggle to break up the pairing when he returns from injury, and it’s thought that Gabriel is increasingly unhappy at being on the bench.

Rumours were floating around the media last month that the Mertesacker was talking to Werder Bremen about a move back to his old club, and its rumoured that Arsene Wenger is already looking to replace Mertesacker before he’s even left.

Lazio’s Stefan de Vrij was said to be Wenger’s next target, but the latest reports from The Mirror now claim the ace is on the ace is set to extend his contract with his current club Lazio.

They further reported that Chelsea are also showing a keen interest in signing the Dutch international defender, but the report from II Tempo via Mirror claims that the ace is on the verge of extending his contract with the Serie A giants.

The 24-year-old has been a first team starter since he switched to Italy in 2014 and is a great asset for Lazio, so it remains unlikely his future will be elsewhere, especially given his new contract with Lazio will reportedly have a release clause worth around €40million.