Sol Campbell urges Arsenal to beat Man City and Liverpool to £40m transfer | Football

Sol Campbell believes that Arsenal should act on their transfer interest in Marc Guehi and says the Crystal Palace defender would be a ‘top’ addition to Mikel Arteta’s side.

The England centre-back is now into the final few months of his contract with the Eagles, which expires at the end of the season.

Guehi came extremely close to signing for Liverpool at the end of the summer transfer window, travelling to Merseyside only for Crystal Palace to pull the plug at the last minute as they could not secure a replacement.

The 25-year-old is still set to leave Palace, with Liverpool maintining interest and Manchester City weighing up a January bid after a slew of defensive injuries in recent matches.

The latest reports suggest that Arsenal also maintain an interest in the central defender, despite strengthening in that area over the summer with the signings of Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapire.

And Campbell believes that the Gunners would be foolish not to enquire about Guehi to add their wealth of options in the backline.

‘The back line is more interesting,’ Campbell told Sky Bet.

‘Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace is a top player. I know Liverpool are sniffing around him. That’s someone I would inquire about.’

Arsenal have been the best defensive side in the Premier League over the past three seasons, in large part down to the rock-solid partnership between Gabriel and William Saliba.

And Campbell believes the two can go down as Arsenal’s best-ever centre-back pairing if they can bring silverware to the club over the coming seasons.

‘To be a truly top centre-half pairing, you must play together for two, three, four, even five years,’ he said. ‘And you must win things.

‘You need to perform at a high-level week in, week out, across multiple seasons, then look back and say, ‘We achieved something’.

‘You can’t really compare partnerships until that happens. Potentially, Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba could be the best Arsenal have had, and among the best the Premier League has seen. But potential isn’t enough – you have to win.

‘Everything is there. I hope they go on to build an outstanding partnership over the next few years, win trophies and fulfil what they’re working towards.

‘You can play brilliantly and have a great relationship, but if you don’t win anything, something is missing.

‘That’s what you’ve got to do – play amazing, have a great relationship, win as well, and then look back and say, ‘That was an amazing time.’ Until then, it’s all about potential. Hypothetically.’

Arsenal are back in action on Sunday in the FA Cup third round when they travel south to face Championship side Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

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