Arsenal offered Manuel Akanji for £21 million, should the Gunners take the deal?

Bengaluru, July 21: According to reports in England, Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji in a £21 million deal. The Swiss international has been already told he will not feature in Edin Terzic's pre-season plans and will even be left out of the squad for the 2022-23 season. It is understood that the German giants are actively looking for buyers for the 27-year-old and have contacted Arsenal.

Akanji's future at Borussia Dortmund has been reported to be up in the air following the signings of Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck. The Swiss international has been an important player for the German giants since his move from FC Basel in 2018. However, his time at Signal Iduna Park seems to be coming to an end.

With just one year remaining in his deal, Akanji is believed to be available at a price of just £21 million deal and for that price, he could prove to be a brilliant addition to Mikel Arteta's side. The Gunners have missed out on the signing of Lisandro Martinez from Ajax with the Argentine joining Manchester United instead.

Mikel Arteta seems to be keen on a left-sided centre-back to provide competition to Gabriel Magalhaes or potentially replace him with the Brazilian linked with a move to Juventus.

Akanji could prove to be a smart signing and that too on a bargain. The Swiss international is a modern-day ball-playing defender and good with either foot. Akanji looks equally comfortable playing at right centre-back or at left centre-back.

Also, he is quite experienced at the highest level having made a total of 156 appearances for Dortmund to date while representing his country on 41 occasions.

We will have to wait and see how Arteta reacts after missing out on Martinez but he would probably be wise to take the chance to sign Akanji on a bargain. However, with Manchester United and Chelsea also said to be interested in his services, the Gunners will need to act fast if they have to land the former FC Basel defender.