After the long-term injury to Rob Holding, as well as recent extended absences for Laurent Koscielny and Konstantinos Mavropanos, Arsenal have to be thinking about investing in January.

As it stands, Arsenal have five senior centre-backs: Laurent Koscielny (slowly returning), Shkodran Mustafi (injured and suspended), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (suspended), Konstantinos Mavropanos (injured) and Rob Holding (injured). Even Julio Pleguezuelo seemingly got too close to the first-team and picked up a knock.

There are players who can fill in, like Nacho Monreal, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Mohamed Elneny and so on. Nonetheless, Arsenal really don’t have defenders they can rely on to play matches consistently, and they may need to dip into the transfer market to find one.

Let’s look at who the club have been linked with in recent weeks:

Daniele Rugani

• Age: 24
• Position: Centre-Back
• Contract until: 2021
• Club: Juventus
• Estimated transfer value: £19.8m

Arsenal are ‘seriously monitoring’ the availability of Juventus’ Daniele Rugani, according to reports in the English media.

Express Sport write that Arsenal are following the centre-back closely, though Chelsea are also favourites to move for the 24-year-old. Various reports suggest Rugani would cost between €35m (£31m) and €50m (£44m).

Rugani has a contract with Juventus until 2021, and in the past, he’s chosen to commit his future to the club rather than pushing for a move. His agent admitted over the summer that he’d previously held talks with Arsenal over a transfer, but at the time he insisted the defender was happy with Juventus.

However, the signs suggest that’s starting to change. Rugani has really struggled to get into the Juventus team this season, only making four appearances in all competitions (three starts). He was also recently tagged in an Instagram post by girlfriend Michela Persico with the two of them learning English.

With a couple of years left on his contract and seemingly no place in Juventus’ first choice team, January could be the perfect time for Rugani to move on. Whether that’s to Arsenal, we’ll have to wait and see.

Click ‘Next’ for more centre-backs linked with a January move to Arsenal

Mario Hermoso

• Age: 23
• Position: Centre-back
• Contract until: 2020
• Club: Real Betis
• Estimated transfer value: £18m

Recent reports from Spain suggest Arsenal are considering paying the €40m release clause for Espanyol defender Mario Hermoso in January.

Hermoso joined Espanyol from Real Madrid in 2017, having never appeared for Madrid’s first team after coming through their academy. Since then, the 23-year-old has really made a name for himself in La Liga.

Suddenly, there are rumours that Real Madrid want to activate their buy-back clause of €7.5m. However, Arsenal are also very interested, according to a report from Marca.

Hermoso has only missed one game of Espanyol’s league campaign so far, scoring a couple of goals and helping them keep five clean sheets. It’s no surprise the big clubs are starting to take an interest, and that interest will only increase after the Spaniard made his international debut last month.

Click ‘Next’ for more centre-backs linked with a January move to Arsenal

Eric Bailly

• Age: 24
• Position: Centre-Back
• Contract until: 2020
• Club: Manchester United
• Estimated transfer value: £27m

Reports in the last month suggest Jose Mourinho is ‘ready to sell’ Eric Bailly, as the Manchester United manager looks to free up some space for a replacement centre-back. Sky Sports called the centre-back ‘out of favour’ in Manchester, and say defensive reinforcements might be on Arsenal’s radar.

The Telegraph write that Mourinho is ‘prepared to cash in’ on Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo to bring in a new defender. It’s reportedly not clear whether Manchester United are in favour of the sale or not, particularly after Mourinho failed to convince them to sell Anthony Martial over the summer.

If Bailly does leave, the Express write that Arsenal have been touted with a move for him. Unai Emery knows the 24-year-old pretty well from his time in Spain, as the Ivory Coast international played for Espanyol and Villarreal whilst Emery was with Sevilla.

With Villarreal, the defender was massively impressive, and a big part of the La Liga side’s fantastic defensive record in 2015/16. For whatever reason, he’s never quite been able to consistently rediscover that form with United. Still so young for a centre-back, perhaps a move would help him get back to his best.

Click ‘Next’ for more centre-backs linked with a January move to Arsenal

Sebastian Walukiewicz

• Age: 18
• Position: Centre-Back
• Contract until: 2020
• Club: Pogon Szczecin
• Estimated transfer value: £180k

Sven Mislintat’s team are scouting Sebastian Walukiewicz ahead of the January transfer window, according to recent reports.

Pogon Szczecin defender Walukiewicz is just 18 years old, but he’s reportedly already drawing the attention of some of Europe’s top clubs. Football.London write that Mislintat has identified the Polish u20 international as a potential addition to Unai Emery’s squad, but Barcelona and Southampton are also watching the youngster.

Walukiewicz has made 15 starts this campaign for Pogon Szczecin in the Polish first tier. Even though the league isn’t nearly as competitive as some of the best in Europe, for his age that’s still pretty impressive.

If Sven Mislintat is interested, that’s a good sign too. He brought Konstantinos Mavropanos to the Premier League from the Greek Superleague last season and, other than his recent injury problems, that seems to be going pretty well.

Click ‘Next’ for more centre-backs linked with a January move to Arsenal

Ezri Konsa

• Age: 21
• Position: Centre-Back
• Contract until: 2021
• Club: Brentford
• Estimated transfer value: £2.7m

Arsenal want to sign Brentford defender Ezri Konsa for £15m in January, according to reports in the English media.

The Mirror write that Konsa has impressed Arsenal scouts in recent months, so much so that the club are planning a bid in January. The young centre-back played 90 minutes in Brentford’s clash with the Gunners in September, so Unai Emery and his team have already had the chance to see him up close.

According to the Mirror, Arsenal are prioritising signing young English talent, presumably with the current homegrown quota in mind. They say Konsa would cost around £15m, but appear to have got this figure from The S*n, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Konsa is strong in possession, so it’s no surprise he’s being linked with clubs like Arsenal. WhoScored‘s analysis reveals that his aerial duels could use some work though.

At such a young age, it’s no surprise the centre-back still has areas he can improve. Rob Holding made a similar leap from the Championship to the Premier League and took a while to settle in, but he was starting every game for Arsenal before his unfortunate injury. We’ll see if the club think Konsa could follow a similar path.