Manchester United will sell Chris Smalling this summer giving Arsene Wenger hope that he can finally land a defender he’s been after since 2010 when he first moved to Old Trafford.

The 27-year-old will be sold for around £15m this summer according to a report in the Telegraph and has no shortage of suitors.

Deemed unsuitable for United by Jose Mourinho, who has already brought in Victor Lindelof to replace him, it’s highly unlikely that Mourinho will sell to Arsene Wenger, regardless of how little he thinks of Smalling as a defender.

Mourinho has form for blocking moves to Arsenal no matter what club he’s at – we were only able to sign Petr Cech from Chelsea because the keeper had personal assurances from Roman Abramovich that he could pick his next club.

As for Arsenal’s interest, there is enough smoke and history here to think that it’s more than just some reporters adding two and three to come up with a new number five for Arsenal.

A decent defender who can be imperious on his day, he was voted Players’ Player of the Year in Louis van Gaal’s final season at Old Trafford but since then seems to have lost his way somewhat.

A change of club could help him refocus but it’s hard to find many Arsenal fans getting too excited about the prospect of him lining up at the Emirates next season.