Arsenal Transfer News: Latest on William Carvalho Rumours

Arsenal will reportedly go head-to-head with Liverpool in January to sign Sporting Lisbon star William Carvalho.

That's according to Daniel Uccellieri of Tuttomercatoweb, via George Bellshaw of Metro. As Bellshaw notes, Francis Coquelin's knee injury suffered against Chelsea—which according to Metro's Tom Olver could keep him sidelined for a month—demonstrates that the Gunners are worryingly thin in holding midfield.

Indeed, their only alternatives are the ageing and uninspiring Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, both of whom have been effective players for Arsenal in the past but now leave their back four vulnerable.

Carvalho represents an excellent option for the Gunners to strengthen in the centre, representing a huge upgrade on Arteta and Flamini defensively.

Further, though he provides great protection to the back four, the 23-year-old is more than just a "destroyer" as Bellshaw asserts, per sports journalist Jonas Giaever and football writer Seb Stafford-Bloor:

Such a view is backed up by his impressive distribution, per WhoScored:

B/R's own Sam Tighe runs the rule over the Portuguese international:

Carvalho's addition would give Arsenal some much-needed steel in midfield as well as invaluable strength in depth, something the Gunners significantly lack.

However, according to Bellshaw, Uccellieri's report places the Reds ahead of Arsenal in the race to sign him.

Carvalho would likely be more tempted by a move to the Emirates thanks to the virtually guaranteed assurance of Champions League football and the stronger possibility of silverware.

However, Liverpool are equally desperate for an injection of quality in their midfield, so the Gunners will need to act quickly in January or they could find themselves missing out on yet another target.