Report: Arsenal plan summer raid for Hammer

Arsenal are plotting a move for West Ham’s defender Issa Diop as boss Mikel Arteta sets his defensive targets for the Summer.

Centre-back Diop has impressed a number of rival Premier League clubs since arriving from Toulouse in the summer of 2018.

Arteta heads towards his first transfer window as Gunners boss and the Daily Mirror claims the Arsenal boss believes the Frenchman could help solve a problem that his club has had for years. Diop has already attracted interest from Manchester United during his time in England but West Ham co-owner David Sullivan issued a strong hands-off warning to Old Trafford bosses.

The report claims Arsenal are ready to test the Hammers resolve in the summer but West Ham would not let the player who cost them £22.5m two years ago go on the cheap.

It would take a massive overvaluation bid from the North London rivals to persuade West Ham to consider an offer for a player who officially is not for sale.