Arsene Wenger's penchant to buy midfielders show no signs of abating with Arsenal reportedly set for talks with Dinamo Zagreb star Marcelo Brozovic.
The box-to-box midfielder has been dubbed as the "next Luka Modric" and is highly-rated in Croatia, with the Gunners reportedly keeping tabs on the youngster.
Several teams across Europe have shown an interest in the 21-year-old, who is currently contracted to Dinamo Zagreb until 2019, and Arsenal could steal a march on all of them by sealing a move in the January transfer window.
Speaking to Goal.com, Brozovic's agent Miroslav Bicanic revealed that he will hold talks with Arsenal, among other clubs, over a possible move for his client when Croatia pay a visit to London for an international friendly against England next month.
"Croatia plays USA in November in London and during our stay there we will hold meetings and negotiate with several English teams," Bicanic told Goal.
"Yes, I can confirm Arsenal are one of them."
Arsenal are not exactly light in the central midfield department, with an embarrassment of riches available for Wenger. What is required, though, is a defensive midfielder, and Brozovic does not quite fit that bill.
However, at 21, there is still time for the Brozovic, who impressed for Croatia at the 2014 World Cup, to grow, and Wenger is the master at turning youngsters into world-class players.
Meanwhile, the defensive department remains Arsenal's concern, with vice-captain Per Mertesacker admitting the team needs to tighten up at the back, particularly at setplays.
"We have to go through the setpieces and see what went wrong, because last year we had quite a good record," Mertesacker told Arsenal Player. "We need to improve on it this season because we've conceded from them already.
"It's all about reminding ourselves how good we are in the air from setpieces, but we have to get to the ball and stop opponents getting into dangerous areas. That's what we need to improve. We had a good record throughout last season but we need to find that again quickly."
Arsenal are not the most dangerous teams when it comes to converting from a deadball situation either, with Wenger's side wasting numerous opportunities from corners during their North London Derby against Tottenham recently.
Mertesacker knows the Gunners need to improve on both aspects – defending and attacking setplays.
"[Attacking corners] is a part we have to improve as well," he admitted. "The deliveries, the timing, there's a lot of detailed things we have to improve. A lot of it has to do with concentration, strictness and good deliveries and good timing.
"When we went through the situation we could see that not everyone was on the ball. We have to be able to score or avoid conceding goals. We have to make sure that we are ready and concentrating on every setplay."
