Arsenal sent scouts to Etihad Stadium to watch Ajax goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer in his club's match against Manchester City a fortnight ago, according to reports.

Vermeer has become a sign of continuity and stability at Ajax since graduating from the club's youth side. As Arsenal consider purchasing a new keeper, Dutch paper Sport1 claims that he will be Wenger's top transfer target come January.

Earlier reports in the Daily Mirror had linked the Gunners with a possible move for Ali Al Habsi, as Wenger looks for another top keeper to assist Wojciech Szczesny, after being slightly underwhelmed by Vito Mannone's efforts this season.

Mannone had the chance to step in for Szczesny while he was injured, and though his performances for Arsenal were good, he would offer no competition to the Pole should he be fully fit.

With that in mind, speculation has surrounded a possible deal for another stopper in January, with Arsenal desperately pushing to get back into the top four and become title challengers once more.

Kenneth Vermeer
Kenneth Vermeer is believed to be a target for Arsenal.

In Arsenal's last five games across the board, the side have let in 13 goals, giving the distinct impression that Wenger might be in the market for a keeper who can give the back four more stability and offer Szczesny some competition to perform.

The Dutch press claim Vermeer could be worth around €6 million, and would be a slightly cheaper option to Al Habsi, who is also fielding interest from Liverpool.

When Mannone had his chance for Arsenal at the start of the season, Wenger insisted that Szczesny would stay in the number one position, with Lukasz Fabianksi also in the fray.

"He has done really well. Vito was allowed to move at the start of the season, to play somewhere," he told the official site. "Now he has been No 1 for two games and has at least moved into being a serious candidate to be fighting for the place. At the moment, Wojciech is but there is a fight there and it is interesting.

"We have three goalkeepers who have the talent to play in the Premier League and to fight for the No 1 place. That's Wojciech, Fabianski and Mannone.

"Usually we keep two and let one go away to play, because they need to play. Now Vito has taken advantage of the fact that Fabianski and Wojciech were injured."

But with the possibility that Fabianski still wants to leave Arsenal, after declaring his intentions to do so last summer, space for another stopper will certainly be a possibility, and particularly for a young one.