Arsenal have reportedly identified Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Wendel as a potential summer transfer target.
The Gunners have enjoyed a productive period in the transfer market with Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus among the players who have moved to the Emirates Stadium.
However, head coach Mikel Arteta is known to want more fresh faces in his first-team squad, including that of Manchester City's Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The acquisition of the versatile Ukraine international would potentially fulfil Arteta's desire to add another central midfielder to his senior crop.
Nevertheless, according to Globo, the North London outfit are also giving consideration to trying to sign Wendel over the coming weeks.
© Reuters
The 24-year-old is well established in European football with a promising spell with Sporting Lisbon having led to a switch to Zenit at the start of 2020-21.
Since his move to Russia, the former Fluminense youngster has contributed eight goals and eight assists from his 57 appearances in all competitions.
With three years still remaining on his contract, Zenit will feel in a strong position when it comes to Wendel's future, but a lack of continental football may complicate matters.
The report claims that the versatile midfielder would prefer to engineer a transfer away from the Russian giants before the start of September.
© Reuters
Wendel scored Zenit's goal in their 1-1 draw with Khimki on Friday as his club began the defence of their top-flight title.
However, it is currently unclear how the defending champions will handle any requests to leave the club given the decreasing appeal to represent teams from the country.
As it stands, Arteta currently has Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny and Albert Sambi Lokonga at his disposal for the two central positions in his team.
While new arrival Vieira can also play in that position, the Portuguese may be used further forward or as an alternative to Martin Odegaard.
Darren Plant
