Arsenal 'eye' £20m Tierney back-up after Tavares' cryptic claim about coaches

Arsenal are targeting Inter Milan defender Federico Dimarco as Mikel Arteta looks to find cover for Kieran Tierney.

The Gunners are keen to add a left-sided defender with the injury issues to the Scotland international with Nuno Tavares failing to impress in his debut season. Tierney's campaign was cut short when he was sidelined with a knee injury in April which required him to go under the knife.

Tierney has been brilliant since arriving from Celtic in the summer of 2019 for £25million but has been plagued with injuries. It cost the north Londoners at the end of the season as they turned to Tavares who was a weak link in Arsenal's defence.

Arsenal were looking at Bologna rising star Aaron Hickey but it now seems they have turned their attention elsewhere. Dimarco is said to be on their radar, but the Serie A giants have placed a £20m price tag on the Italian, according to The Sun.

Dimarco has been on the fringes of Inter's starting XI having made 19 out of his 32 league appearances from the bench last season. Arsenal had a successful transfer window last summer with the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White and Martin Odegaard hitting the ground running as they narrowly missed out on a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Tavares has probably been the one signing who has struggled to settle at the Emirates and it seems Arteta has noticed that as he looks for a left-back in the upcoming window.

Tavares opened about his debut season at Arsenal and said some coaches "don't understand how to speak" to players hinting that it's been difficult for him to adjust to life in north London. But he reckons Granit Xhaka, who was criticised for his post-match outburst after a defeat to Newcastle, which ended the Gunners' Champions League dream, bridges that gap perfectly as his vast experience allows him to be a buffer between the players and the coaching team.

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He told the Counter Attack Podcast: "I don't know why people spoke about Granit. He's a leader, everybody respects him and his mentality is key for us.

"I think the way he talks with young players I think is enough to be happy to play. He knows what to tell the players. To give some confidence sometimes the coaches don't understand how to speak with the players.

"But Granit because he's a player too, he knows what he needs to tell you to get motivated but when you don't train well he's honest. Sometimes we joke about that when it's like a disaster he can tell you! But he's really good and funny, I think he's a leader and you can have a conversation with him, he knows everything."