Portuguese side, Sporting Lisbon wanted a minimum of £35 million for their prized asset William Carvalho. However, they are ready to accept bids in the region of £24 million, £11 million lower than their initial asking price, according to the Express.

Arsenal want to sign an out-and-out defensive enforcer this summer and Carvalho fits the bill. Mikel Arteta is just too inconsistent in that area and Mathieu Flamini is not the same player he once was. There is plenty of quality in the attacking midfield at Arsenal, but they lack depth in the defensive midfield department.

Wenger wants to address that issue, especially since they were blown away in the first half away at Goodison Park last weekend. Sami Khedira was a previous name linked with the English club however Wenger has now moved on to Carvalho to add the necessary steel in the midfield department but will need to work quickly if he is to beat out Manchester United who seem keen on the youngster too.