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Arsenal are expected to make a bid for Benfica full-back Alex Grimaldo.
Although the emphasis has been in improving the team’s ability to score goals, Mikel Arteta is keen to strengthen his defensive options as well, particularly in left-back, where Kieran Tierney’s inability to stay consistently fit has been a problem for the past several seasons.
They had been in the market for Ajax’s Lisandro Martinez, but it looks like they have been out-bid by Manchester United for the Argentine international.
26 year old Grimaldo who has cored 19 goals and provided 50 assists in 247 appearances for Benfica is much more reasonably priced, and it is thought that an offerof around £5.9 million would be accepted by the Portuguese club.
Grimaldo has just entered the final year of his contract in Lisbon and Benfica want to realise some value for him now rather than lose him for free at the end of next season.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.