Arsenal have made a €25 million (£22.5m/$28.5m) bid to sign Saint-Etienne defender William Saliba although they are set to face competition from their north London rivals Tottenham for the 18-year-old.
According to sources close to the player, the Gunners have opened discussions with ASSE and put their first offer on the table, although no agreement has yet been reached.
As reported by Goal, Saliba is Arsenal's top summer transfer target as Unai Emery looks to improve his defence ready for the 2019-20 campaign.
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There is, however, likely to be strong competition from Spurs for the centre-back, with the Champions League finalists expected to make a counter offer for Saliba in the coming days.