Arsenal in the Hunt for Guehi as City Ramp Up Pressure in January Window

Arsenal have joined the race for Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, with the Gunners making their interest clear through direct contact with the south London club, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has revealed.

The north London side are sitting pretty atop the Premier League table under Mikel Arteta's stewardship, having dispatched Portsmouth 4-1 in the weekend's FA Cup action to secure their passage into the fourth round. With a 14-point buffer over fourth-placed Liverpool and a six-point cushion ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa in second and third respectively, Arsenal are in rude health.

Arteta received substantial backing in the summer window, with the club sanctioning eight new arrivals in their bid to finally break their cycle of three consecutive runner-up finishes and land the title. The Spanish tactician has now hinted that the January market could yet prove fertile ground, admitting the club must remain vigilant.

"The window is there, I mean, we're Arsenal and we have to be looking at it, OK, 'What do we need?' And we have to be actively looking, and then if can we do it or not, that's a different story," Arteta explained. "But our job is to be always very prepared because something can happen, so hopefully very positive."

Guehi has emerged as a defensive target, but the pursuit is becoming increasingly complicated. Liverpool are mounting a determined push, whilst Bayern Munich have held preliminary discussions. The real spanner in the works, however, is Manchester City's intervention.

Romano outlined the situation on his YouTube channel, explaining that City have made their move explicit. "Manchester City have been very clear. They want to try, they want to make an important proposal, and they want to go strong for Guehi in this January window," he stated. "Manchester City are prepared to reach an agreement with Crystal Palace. They don't see any problem on that side."

The stumbling block remains Guehi's own intentions. His long-standing plan has been to engineer a summer departure on free-transfer terms, sidestepping any midseason upheaval. "But it's on the player, because his plan has always been to move in the summer on a free transfer. So let's see what happens, but the Marc Guehi story remains absolutely alive," Romano added.

Liverpool legend John Barnes weighed in on the saga, suggesting that whilst January transfers carry inherent risks, the mathematics could favour all parties. "For Crystal Palace, letting Guehi leave would make sense because they aren't in any danger in terms of their Premier League position, and this will be the last opportunity they get to bring in some money for Guehi," Barnes told Cover. "Selhurst Park chiefs might decide to cash in on Guehi now to get £20m-£30m, rather than lose him for free in the summer."

Yet Barnes questioned whether Arsenal or City represented the ideal landing spot for the defender. "Given Arsenal have a lot of depth in the center-back position and Manchester City, aside from their injury issues, are not lacking talent in that area, Liverpool would make sense as a perfect next club for Guehi," he concluded.