Arsenal in Talks With Reims for £13m Defender Axel Disasi

​Arsenal have reportedly made contact with Ligue 1 side Reims concerning promising young centre-back Axel Disasi. 

The 22-year-old France youth international has been a near ever-present for a Reims side which have surprised many with their performances this season, as they inflicted Paris Saint-Germain's only home defeat of the campaign and are currently fifth in Ligue 1.

Reims' exceptional season has been based largely on their water-tight defence - statistically the best in Ligue 1, with just 21 goals conceded in 28 games. Disasi has played the full 90 minutes in all but one of those matches. 

According to ​Goal, Arsenal have formally made contact with the French side who will be demanding £13m for the defender. 

Disasi only has one year of his contract left, which goes some way to explaining why the fee is not larger, and has attracted interest from fellow ​Premier League sides ​West Ham and ​Southampton. 

In France, Monaco are also thought to be keen to add Disasi to their mounting collection of young French talent, while a number of teams in Germany have joined the growing list of clubs with a strong interest.

Standing at 6'3, Disasi forms an imposing figure at the heart of a backline which can boast the second lowest rate of non-penalty goals conceded in Europe's top five leagues. 

​Arsenal had started to show some signs of improvement under Mikel Arteta but there are ​several positions the Gunners need to strengthen, with perhaps none more important than a central defender. Fellow French centre-back ​William Saliba is already set to provide reinforcements in Arteta's backline after spending the current campaign on loan with Saint-Étienne.

But with the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak threatening to force ​the sale of star-forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, there may not be an abundance of funds to splash on a world-class defender, so Arsenal will perhaps opt for the promising, yet still largely unproven, prospect.