It looks like Arsenal may not quite have enough to claim the Premier League title this season and, if we finish anything but top, there will be a lot of pressure to spend money in the summer.

One of the players Arsenal may target is Riyad Mahrez, with ESPN FC reporting that a move for the Algerian is on the cards and the Gunners watching him and his situation very closely indeed.

So far this season the winger has scored 14 times and assisted 10 as Leicester City have launched a surprising bid for the Premier League title. Barcelona and Real Madrid are also said to be interested, along with fellow English side Manchester United, but Arsenal would hope to compete with all three sides.

Claudio Ranieri, perhaps shockingly, has even opened the door for an exit.

“We want to keep all our players,” said the Italian last week, but he won’t keep anyone who doesn’t want to stay. “We believe in them. But if a player comes to me and says: ‘Boss, I want to go there because it’s my ambition to go there’. I’ll say: ‘Go and enjoy and have good luck’.”

All of that leaves Mahrez available, though you would have to pay through the nose to land him. With wealthy competitors also interested and the player under contract until 2019, this would be a very expensive deal for a guy with ‘just’ one (very) impressive season at the top level.

Would Arsenal, or more to the point Wenger, be willing to spend so much? If they identify Mahrez as the man they need, why not?