Arsenal could make a move for Marseille centre back Nicolas N’Koulou, according to a report in talkSPORT, as the season finished with the club maintaining their UEFA Champions League qualification position which is a must to attract the likes of N’Koulou.

Arsene Wenger will be looking to build on from the first half of the season, when his side were top of the Barclays Premier League for the best part of six months. The Gunners took the league by storm, grinding out results both at home and away from the Emirates Stadium, to keep their place at the top of the league for 128 days – twice their nearest rivals Chelsea but unfortunately they were not top of the league at the end of the season which Manchester City pulled off despite only being top for a very modest 15 days but this was partly due to their cup runs and the games in hand they had most of the season.

The lack of squad depth again cost them dearly as other top sides like Manchester City and Liverpool made up ground by winning consistently through the Christmas period. The constant fixtures did not help as injuries mounted on, leaving Theo Walcott out for the rest of the campaign. The defensive pair of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker also faced a tiring mid-season, and Wenger needed an experienced centre back to cover for either of the pair.

With this situation, N’Koulou provides Arsenal a dependable option at the back, and even though he may take time to settle in the league, like Mertesacker, most pundits think he will likely find his feet and perform at the highest level pretty quickly.