Arsenal scouts were in attendance for Benfica’s match against RB Leipzig earlier in the week, amid reports of interest in Dayot Upamecano.

LEIPZIG, GERMANY - JULY 21: Dayot Upamecano of RB Leipzig poses during the team presentation at RBL-Fussball-Akademie on July 21, 2018 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Roger Petzsche/Bongarts/Getty Images)
LEIPZIG, GERMANY – JULY 21: Dayot Upamecano of RB Leipzig poses during the team presentation at RBL-Fussball-Akademie on July 21, 2018, in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Roger Petzsche/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Over the summer, Arsenal were linked with a move for RB Leipzig centre-back Dayot Upamecano, with reports that the Gunners had offered £55m whilst the German side were demanding £70m. In the end, the club settled for David Luiz, with the suggestion they might go back for Upamecano in the future.

Whether that is really the case remains to be seen, but we do know that Arsenal scouts were in attendance for this week’s Champions League fixture between Leipzig and Benfica.

Brazilian journalist Marcus Alves tweeted out a list of clubs with representatives at the match:

Of course, it’s possible Arsenal weren’t there to watch Leipzig players at all.

There were reports earlier in the year of the Gunners sending scouts to watch Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo and it’s possible he or any of the other Benfica players caught their attention.

The other alternative is that Arsenal were just doing their job by sending scouts out to high-profile matches, without necessarily having any particular player in mind at all. It’s all speculation at this stage.