Arsenal have entered negotiations with Bayern Munich to acquire the services of highly-experienced defender Jerome Boateng this month.
The Gunners have been hampered in the central defensive position after the serious knee injury for Calum Chambers and it has been confirmed that he will be out for around six to nine months after a surgery.
This has left the club with five specialist centre-backs in David Luiz, Sokratis, Skhodran Mustafi, Rob Holding and Dinos Mavropanos but the latter does not seem in the plans of Arteta at the moment.
Elsewhere, there is the speculation that Mustafi could be heading through the exit door and that seems to have increased the urgency for a centre-back, who can provide both experience and solidity from the role.
According to Sky Germany via Metro, the Gunners have opened talks with Bayern over the possible purchase of Boateng and it is stated that he could be available for an asking price of just £12.75m.
Boateng has made 15 appearances during the current campaign for Bayern but he has faced competition from David Alaba, who has played more centrally alongside Javi Martinez on occasions.
The German, who previously won the Champions League with Bayern in 2013, was strongly fancied to join Manchester United in the summer of 2018 but he rejected the advances from the Red Devils.
It now appears that he is keen on parting ways with Bayern and he could prove a quality stopgap option for Arsenal until the summer where they can recall William Saliba and probably make another high-profile purchase.
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