Arsenal Transfer News: William Carvalho Scouted, Latest Arturo Vidal Rumours

Arsenal reportedly sent scouts to the final of the Under-21 European Championships between Portugal and Sweden on Tuesday to cast an eye over William Carvalho.

Portuguese outlet O Jogo (h/t Kristian Walsh of the Liverpool Echo) reported that the Gunners, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United all had representatives at the game.

Sport Witness provided the O Jogo report, in which 23-year-old Carvalho is described as a priority for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger:

The Sporting star has long been linked with a move to the Emirates as a defensive-midfield option, and having reportedly missed out on signing Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin, the Gunners are lining up a bid for the youngster, according to Rhys Turrell of the Daily Star.

Despite the terrific performances of Francis Coquelin in the latter stages of last season, Arsenal are still sorely lacking a deep-lying midfielder.

As Bleacher Report's Graham Ruthven noted, Arsenal are just a couple of signings away from mounting a genuine title challenge next season:

Carvalho could well be one of those vital signings. Not only is he a huge talent and a fantastic combative midfielder, but he would finally bring some depth to the centre of midfield at Arsenal, which they have been lacking for some time.

Despite missing the decisive penalty in Portugal's shootout defeat in the final, Carvalho was arguably the best player of the tournament at the Under-21 Euros, according to Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

His distribution and work rate are immense, and he would fit in perfectly at Arsenal, who must now look to fight off the other Premier League teams also interested in the young star.

Another central midfielder who has been linked with a move to Arsenal is Juventus' Arturo Vidal, but his agent has denied any link with the north London club.

A report from Italian outlet La Stampa (h/t MailOnline's Ben Nagle) suggested the Chilean was set to move to the Emirates for £21 million.

However, speaking to radio show America y Cross (h/t Goal.com's Jay Jaffa) Vidal's representative Fernando Felicevich denied the rumours completely: "I've not had any contact with Arsenal."

If Arsenal can sign Carvalho, then this should be of no concern to them. While Vidal is a terrific player, he is 28 years old and has only a year or so left in his prime.

Carvalho has not even reached his prime, and under the tutelage of Wenger could be Arsenal's midfield enforcer for years to come.