Arsenal identify Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips as Jorginho replacement?

During the summer, Mikel Arteta moved to make a major addition in the engine room with the signing of West Ham United's Declan Rice.

When fit, the England international is a certain starter alongside the likes of Martin Odegaard and one other player, with Thomas Partey, Kai Havertz and Fabio Vieira the most-used options.

However, with Partey having suffered niggly injury issues during his time at the Emirates Stadium and Mohamed Elneny sidelined with a knee injury, Arteta is not blessed with a defensive-minded alternative in the long term.

Jorginho is currently acting as backup but the Italy international has been restricted to just 77 minutes spread across five appearances in all competitions during 2023-24.

Furthermore, the former Chelsea man has less than 12 months remaining on his contract and there appears to be little prospect of a renewal being signed, despite the player being settled in London.

According to Fichajes, Arteta is already given consideration to trying to sign Phillips as a long-term replacement.

The former Leeds United man has just started his second campaign at the Etihad Stadium, again finding himself restricted to appearances from the substitutes' bench.

Although the England international is in line to replace the suspended Rodri in upcoming domestic matches, the 27-year-old currently has just 52 minutes to his name from three outings in all competitions.

Phillips stressed during the summer that he was focused on trying to gain regular game time under Pep Guardiola, who still does not feel inclined to reward him on that front.

The report suggests that Man City may struggle to recoup the £45m that was shelled out on his signature in 2022, even though Phillips is tied to last season's treble winners until 2028.

Arsenal are no strangers to doing business with City having signed Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus last year, and Guardiola has acknowledged in the past that he would not in the way of unhappy players if a suitable offer is made.

Phillips is expected to make his first City start of the season when they square off against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup third round on Wednesday night.