Arsenal are still seriously interested in Abdou Diallo, and it’s ‘highly probable’ Arsenal make a concrete move for the player in the coming weeks, according to reports in France.

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Originally Gianluca Di Marzio reported that Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund are both in the race for the player. The Bundesliga club seem to have the edge at this stage.

However, Get French Football News say they’ve learnt that Arsenal first made contact over a move for the player at the beginning of the season. That’s slightly strange, given the centre-back only moved to Mainz last summer. It’s not entirely unheard of for a club to let a player know they’ll be watching his progress though.

If that’s what happened, it seems to have worked, inspiring Diallo to an impressive season. He made 30 starts in his first campaign with his current side, despite only turning 22 this month.

Sven Mislintat is a big fan, and has been ever since Diallo’s time with AS Monaco. GFFN expect Arsenal’s new transfer team to make an official move before long. The Gunners definitely need a centre-back, especially with Per Mertesacker retiring and Laurent Koscielny’s injury.

Click ‘Next’ for some of the other names reportedly on Mislintat’s centre-back shortlist

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