With links to Burnley’s James Tarkowski and West Brom’s Jonny Evans, it appears Arsenal are prioritising signing a centre-back in January.

It’s no secret by now that Arsenal will soon be in the market for a centre back, if they aren’t already. You’d think that having five defenders at the club, plus some players who can fill in when needed, would be enough for the season.

However, it’s clear that Arsene Wenger doesn’t trust all of his options, if links to Burnley’s James Tarkowski and West Brom’s Jonny Evans are anything to go by.

This could indicate that Wenger doesn’t yet trust Rob Holding and Calum Chambers entirely either. The duo had been ear-marked as future starters, but have been limited to domestic cup matches recently.

You’d think we’d be preparing them for when Per Mertesacker retires, but the Arsenal manager would rather overplay Laurent Kosicelny and rely on Nacho Monreal instead.

If he is looking at a centre-back in January, that could push Holding and Chambers even further down the pecking order. In which case, you’d have to doubt their long-term prospects at the club.

Chambers was sent away on loan last season, while Holding’s stint in the first-team proved to be short-lived.