Arsenal See Valencia Star as Answer to Defensive Frailties – Report

Arsenal are believed to be interested in Valencia defender Adil Rami as Arsene Wenger looks to find a player capable of fixing his leaky defence.

The Gunners have found it difficult to keep clean sheets all season long and there have been a number of uncharacteristic errors from two of last season's most consistent performers in Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen.

Wenger is said to be a long-term admirer of Rami and the Express reports that Arsenal have previously had a £17.5million bid for the defender rejected.

Rami first came to prominence while playing for Lille and was instrumental in helping the club win the Ligue 1 title back in 2011. This form saw him earn a move to Valencia where he has been a regular in the first team for the last 18 months.

The 27-year-old has made 25 appearances for France and is viewed as a player who can help bring some stability to the Arsenal defence.

The Express believes that Arsenal are willing to make an offer in the region of £10million in the summer as they attempt to persuade Valencia to part with the defender.

Arsenal certainly have the funds to strengthen at the end of the season and it appears vital that Wenger looks to strengthen his backline. With Sebastian Squillaci and Johan Djourou both likely to leave in the summer, it seems the north London club will have to find reinforcements.

Rami has been a regular in the Valencia side again this season, starting 21 league games, but the club are battling to achieve a top four finish and are currently one point behind Malaga in fifth.

It has been some time since Wenger signed a French player but he previously enjoyed massive success when recruiting his fellow countrymen and has seen Newcastle profit from their exploits in January transfer window.

However, Arsenal may well need to finish in the top four to convince Rami to leave Spain as Valencia will be confident of achieving Champions League football thanks to Malaga being banned from the competition next season.