Arsenal working on a £30m deal that Christos Tzolis will love

Arsenal are reportedly stepping up their pursuit of a defender, with a new target emerging from nowhere this week.

The Gunners are in need of a reinforcement in their backline as they head into the new season. William Saliba is expected to miss several months as he recovers from a back injury, while Jurrien Timber remains absent with a fitness issue, and Ben White's long-term durability isn't certain due to the succession of injuries he's sustained over the last 18 months.

It's therefore no surprise that the Gunners continue to be linked with a host of right-sided defenders. Ezri Konsa, Jacobo Ramon and Arnau Martinez have been mooted as targets, although concrete developments on each of these potential deals are yet to ensue.

With the season kicking off in a matter of days, Andrea Berta has to accelerate a move for one of the players on his shortlist in this position.

Arsenal interested in signing Club Brugge's Joaquin Seys

Arsenal have already shopped in the Belgian market this summer, signing Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge for £34 million, and it appears they might be prepared to dip back into this talent pool.

According to journalist Sebastien Vidal, the Gunners have made contact with the same club for Joaquin Seys. The 21-year-old full-back is available for around €35 million (£30 million) this summer, and Arsenal have already carried out in-depth scouting work on him.

Benfica and Porto would rival the North Londoners for Seys' signature, and both of these prospective suitors may have the upper hand in terms of being able to offer the defender more regular minutes. That said, Arsenal would be able to sell the idea of playing for one of Europe's best teams, as well as offering a more lucrative contract to the youngster.

Would Joaquin Seys be a good signing for Arsenal?

Tzolis will certainly be delighted to hear of Arsenal's interest in his former teammate. The Greek has acclimated well since arriving from Brugge, but his integration into the Gunners' squad might be helped by the addition of a familiar face.

Seys broke into the Club Brugge first team in the 2024/25 season at the age of 19 and has impressed ever since. Making 55 appearances last term, the Belgian scored five goals and provided eight assists across all competitions.

From his data and from a brief glance at his clips, he profiles as an offensive full-back who is astute at joining the attack, although he's also a high-volume passer, comfortable at participating in settled possession deep on the pitch. This suits Arteta's perfect model of a full-back.

That said, there is one major issue. Seys is left-footed and predominantly operates as a left-back. While he can be used on the right and has been from time-to-time, it's not his natural position.

As aforementioned, Arsenal need reinforcements on the right. While they could shuffle one of Piero Hincapie or Riccardo Calafiori into more of a centre-back role to compensate, the deal doesn't really make sense on paper when the premise of adding another defender is to cover for Saliba.

The idea of Seys is pretty on paper, but it isn't logical in practice.

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