Arsenal have enjoyed a year of vast progression, with Mikel Arteta having overseen the development of many of his assets into some of the top players in their field.

The Spaniard is owed massive credit for how his project has blossomed, from the stuttered start he faced to the 2021/22 failure to secure top four. Nothing has slowed down his steady improvement, and he and his club profited massively last term.

Having now secured Champions League football and announced themselves as the closest competitor to Manchester City by far, the task is now to bridge that gap, with this summer a key opportunity to do so.

Arguably the biggest weakness that was outlined last campaign came at the heart of defence, as William Saliba's mid-March injury saw their form drop and the title charge derailed. Whilst this is largely owed to the immense presence of the Frenchman, a lack of adequate backup truly exacerbated his absence.

Therefore, bolstering their backline should be high on their priority list.

Fortunately, a fine opportunity has already presented itself for this transfer window, as it was reported last month that the Gunners were one of many clubs monitoring Bayern Munich's Benjamin Pavard.

Reports in Italy have stated that due to a dwindling £84k-per-week contract, an offer of just €20m (£17m) could be enough to tempt him out of Germany as reported by Tuttosport, via FCInternews.

Could Benjamin Pavard replicate Ben White?

Given his ability to play at both centre-back and right-back, it is hard not to immediately draw comparisons between the France international and Ben White.

After all, the former Brighton and Hove Albion stalwart moved to north London having enjoyed the bulk of his career through the centre, only for Arteta to employ him at full-back in their most successful year yet. This is no coincidence.

The presence of such a defensive machine offers that foundation for their free-flowing attack to thrive, and as such Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard have all enjoyed their best goalscoring seasons in the league.

This is owed to the 1.6 tackles and two clearances per game of the 25-year-old whose mere positional awareness makes them a stronger defensive unit.

So, to add another player who has seen similar positional progression to the squad, they would immediately have valid cover for Saliba and whoever is selected as the starting right-back.

After all, during a term in which the Bavarian giants narrowly claimed the Bundesliga title, the 27-year-old has lived up to Uli Hoenes' praise that he would be an "outstanding signing".

His 7.35 average Sofascore rating was actually the second-highest of anyone on his team, only behind Joshua Kimmich, and is upheld through his five goal contributions, 2.3 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 2.5 clearances per game.

His mindset has also been praised too, with his former boss Julian Nagelsmann claiming back in March: "Benji had a good performance. He always wants to win. He scored goals too today. He did very well against Paris (first leg). He's playing more often in his favourite position and is doing a good job. I know that he feels comfortable here."

With an additional offensive impetus but sharing a broader physique that differentiates themselves from the midfielder-style modern-day full-back, these two could offer huge benefits to the squad depth, not to mention adding another serial winner into their ranks.