Arsenal have scouted Russian defensive talent Igor Diveev recently as Sven Mislintat continues his mission to land the best prospects, The Mirror reports.

What’s the word?

North London giants Arsenal have undergone a major restructuring during the past 12 months, part of which was a rejuvenation to their scouting set-up that saw Sven Mislintat drafted to the club from Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund and appointed as Head of Recruitment.

The Gunners signed Lucas Torreira, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Bernd Leno, Matteo Guendouzi and Stephan Lichtsteiner during the transfer window but continue their push to land the very best prospects available.

As such, The Mirror states Arsenal were in attendance to watch Igor Diveev in action for Russia’s U20 side at the prestigious COTIF youth tournament – where he scored against Argentina and helped his nation overcome Venezuela.

Contracted to Russian top-flight FC UFA, the 18-year-old is regarded as one of the country’s finest young talents and his huge 6ft 3in frame makes him tough for opposing strikers to overcome.

Should the Gunners move?

Landing a top-talent for the future is always exciting but Arsenal should really be focusing on fixing their defensive options in the first-team at the moment, following a troubled start to the new Premier League season.

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The Gunners have been leaky at the back in their defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea, with questions raised about the club’s depth in the middle of the defence after Calum Chambers was loaned to Fulham for the season.

That has left just Sokratis, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Rob Holding as the only fit senior defenders available, with Laurent Koscielny still sidelined through injury and Greek talent Konstantinos Mavropanos still largely untested at the highest level.

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