Burnley defender, James Tarkowski is currently being monitored by Arsenal, according to recent reports.
The 25-year-old has been the best defender for The Clarets this season appearing in every single Premier League outing. Rumoured to be part of the homegrown quota for both clubs, Tarkowski might have more to offer than just that.
After impressing at Brentford with 78 appearances and 4 goals for the Championship side, the Manchester-born centre-back moved to Burnley on the 1st of February 2016 to strengthen a team newly promoted to the Premier League.
He finished the previous season with 24 appearances for the club and held the record for the most number of clearances in a match that season – 17.
However, Tarkowski hit a snag into his current campaign after facing a straight red for his challenge against Brighton forward, Glenn Murray. He has been suspended for the next 3 league fixtures. Tarkowski and his club tried to argue that the three-game suspension was excessive but this was rejected by an independent regulatory commission.
Burnley are reportedly uninterested in selling the defender in January but might agree to a trade after the end of the current season.
Per Mertesacker has declared his retirement from football after this season and will leave a significant gap in the defensive backline of the Gunners in terms of experience. Arsene Wenger has to scout the transfer market beforehand to replace the former German international with quality defenders and Tarkowski clearly fits the bill.
However, Tarkowski’s presence will further hinder the growth of the two young prospects already at the club – Rob Holding and Calum Chambers. Holding has impressed under the Frenchman displaying great bouts of maturity and composure at such a young age. Chambers have taken a bit longer to find his feet at the Emirates but after watching his performance in the League Cup tie against West Ham United, he is clearly ready to appear in the starting XI.
Tarkowski can, however, be beneficial to the side with Laurent Koscielny on the wrong side of 30 and displaying signs of slowing down.
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola is also keen on making defensive adjustments to his side even with the awe-inspiring season they are currently enduring. Vincent Kompany has faced continuous bouts of injury in recent times and has only returned to the starting line-up a couple of weeks back. Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala are not particularly dependable options for the Spaniard and he might look to add some new faces to the side in the near future.
