Arsenal Pursues Jarell Quansah from Bayer Leverkusen
Arsenal have opened talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a move for England defender Jarell Quansah, as Mikel Arteta pushes to reinforce a back line already stretched before a ball has been kicked.
The 23-year-old has only just returned to Leverkusen after an extended break following his first World Cup, where he made three appearances for England. His stock has risen sharply over the past 12 months, and Leverkusen know it.
They paid £30m to take him from boyhood club Liverpool last summer. He responded with 44 games in his debut season in Germany, slotting into the Bundesliga champions’ system with a calmness that impressed both staff and team-mates. On and off the pitch, the verdict inside the club is the same: mature, adaptable, reliable.
Leverkusen do not want to sell. With four years still left on his contract, they hold the strongest hand at the table and are expected to demand significantly more than the £30m they invested if Arsenal are to prise him away.
Arteta’s need, though, is obvious.
Arsenal’s defensive gaps laid bare
William Saliba is out injured. That alone would make centre-back cover a priority. But the issues run deeper across the back four.
Right-back remains a problem area. Jurrien Timber is still working his way back from the groin injury that has kept him out since March, while Ben White’s fitness record offers little certainty across a long, demanding season.
The cracks were brutally exposed on the biggest stage. In the Champions League final in Budapest, Cristhian Mosquera was forced to start out of position at right-back and ended up conceding a penalty. It was a night that underlined how thin Arsenal are when one or two first-choice defenders are missing.
That reality has driven Arsenal towards versatile options. Ezri Konsa is also on their list, but Aston Villa’s valuation of the 28-year-old is understood to be steep. Quansah, five years younger and comfortable in multiple roles, looks a cleaner fit for the long term.
Why Quansah fits Arteta’s puzzle
Quansah is a centre-back by trade, but his first season at Leverkusen showed far more. He often operated on the right of a back three, drifting into areas usually occupied by a traditional right-back. That hybrid role caught the eye of England boss Thomas Tuchel, who took him to the World Cup as one of his right-back options – ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The numbers and the eye test line up. His pass maps for Leverkusen show him repeatedly stepping into that right-back lane, building play from deep and shuttling across to cover wide spaces. For Arsenal, that flexibility is gold.
Once Saliba returns to full fitness to resume his partnership with Gabriel at centre-back, Quansah would not be boxed into a single role. He could compete on the right, offer cover centrally, and give Arteta the option to tweak between a back four and a back three within games.
The caveat is obvious: full-back at Arsenal is no ordinary job.
Timber and Riccardo Calafiori, in particular, are asked to invert into midfield, at times even drifting into pockets usually occupied by a second striker. It is a demanding, high-IQ position that requires comfort in tight spaces and bravery on the ball.
Quansah is not a carbon copy of those players. He is closer in profile to another former Leverkusen defender already used by Arteta, Piero Hincapie – a more defensive full-back who can still function in an aggressive, possession-heavy system. That precedent matters. It shows Arteta is willing to bend the role to suit the player, not just the other way round.
Timing, fixtures and pressure
Arsenal’s early schedule only sharpens the urgency.
They open with Manchester City in the Community Shield in Cardiff on August 16. Then come Premier League tests against Coventry at home on August 21, Aston Villa away on August 31, Chelsea at the Emirates on September 6, and a trip to Sunderland on September 12.
Those are fixtures that can shape a mood quickly. Arteta knows he cannot afford to stumble into that run with a patched-up defence and a thin bench.
Quansah will not come cheap. Leverkusen are under no pressure to sell, they are happy with his development, and they see him as central to their plans. But Arsenal’s need is real, the fit is clear, and the market rarely offers many 23-year-old England internationals who can solve two problems at once.
The question now is simple: how much are Arsenal willing to pay to find out just how good Jarell Quansah can be in north London?
