Arsene Wenger is looking to wrap up his summer spending by signing defensive reinforcements after Thomas Vermaelen transferred to Barcelona for £15 million.
It's clear that Arsenal are targeting a player who can add the same amount of versatility as the Belgian, who could cover centre-back, left back and defensive midfield.
There are few targets that Wenger could pursue, but recently reports have been suggesting that we're looking towards the Bundesliga, with Javi Martinez and Luiz Gustavo being linked with the club.
Another player who Arsenal are looking into is Benedikt Höwedes. The Schalke defender was one of three to play every minute of Germany's successful World Cup campaign. He played predominantly at left back but plays in the heart of the defence at the Veltins-Arena.
Höwedes can also fill in as a defensive midfielder, meaning he covers all of Vermaelen's positions arguably at a higher standard. The German is twenty-six, meaning his best years are fast approaching.
Although it's not going be an easy transfer for Arsenal to complete. Höwedes is the captain of his current club Schalke, and it's unclear if he would be willing to give that up to make the switch from the North Rhine-Westphalia to North London, especially just to become a squad player for the Gunners.
Furthermore, there are questions over Höwedes' pace and if he would be able to cope with the intensity of the Premier League. But like his German compatriot Per Mertesacker, Höwedes makes up for his lack of pace with excellent positioning and reading of the game.
Arsenal need as many leaders on the pitch as possible, Höwedes would certainly add to that as he's extremely vocal and passionate. However the club would need to offer quite a large sum of money, with the defender recently extending his contract in Germany to 2017. After spending over £60 million already this summer, Wenger will surely not want to splash out more than £20 million to get Schalke's captain.