Arsenal 'monitoring' £12.5m La Liga defender as Mikel Arteta eyes double summer transfer

The Gunners have had few concerns at the back during the 2024-25 campaign, evidenced by their record of just 24 goals conceded in the Premier League, making them the best defensive team in the division.

Instead, a lack of firepower in the absence of Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka has cost them dear as they lie 15 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool at the top of the table.

Barring the most extraordinary Premier League title comeback in history, Arsenal will be consigned to another year of what could have been, and they are expected to address their attacking shortages as a matter of priority in the summer.

The Gunners are believed to be in the final stages of appointing former Atletico Madrid transfer chief Andrea Berta as their new sporting director, and the Italian could supposedly turn to La Liga for an outfield target this summer.

Arsenal's £12.5m transfer opportunity revealed?

According to The Sun, Espanyol's El Hilali has emerged as a genuine option for the next transfer window, and the Gunners are running the rule over the 21-year-old's performances in Spain.

El Hilali came through the Espanyol youth system and has now become a first-choice defender for the Catalan giants, setting up six goals in 76 matches across all competitions.

The 21-year-old has provided two assists from 25 La Liga matches in the 2024-25 campaign, starting all of those games and being deployed at both right-back and centre-back.

El Hilali was born in Spain but represents Morocco at international level, winning the Under-23 African Cup of Nations in 2023, and he is said to have a £12.5m release clause in his contract with Espanyol.

The versatile defender could be one of two players from the Catalan club to make the move to North London this summer, as Arsenal are also said to be at the head of the queue for goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

Do Arsenal really need another defender?

Mikel Arteta and left-backs has been quite the love story in the 2024-25 season; at one point, all of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney were on the field against PSV Eindhoven.

The Spaniard also has Jurrien Timber and the newly-fit Ben White battling for right-back starts, but Takehiro Tomiyasu will not play again this season on account of his serious knee injury.

The Japan international is a reliable and versatile option when fully fit, but his injury record is just too hard to ignore, and a free transfer when his deal expires in 2026 may be inevitable.

Furthermore, Jakub Kiwior has not convinced at the back when given a chance, so signing a 21-year-old, £12.5m option may be a no-brainer for the board, especially as William Saliba could do with a right-footed understudy.

Written by

Ben Knapton