Arsenal Target Castello Lukeba as £78m RB Leipzig Defender Draws Man Utd and Real Madrid Interest

Arsenal are hoping to strengthen their defence further as they pursue RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba, according to Sports Boom.

The Gunners added to their backline last summer as they brought in Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie from Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively, though the latter only signed on loan and the capital side have no obligation to make the move permanent.

Even so, the duo have slotted in seamlessly at the Emirates Stadium but head coach Mikel Arteta is pushing for the Premier League leaders to bring in Lukeba.

Arsenal keen to bolster Premier League's best defence

This despite Arsenal boasting the best defensive record in the Premier League this season having conceded just 18 goals from their opening 26 matches.

However, Arteta and Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta are aware they need to continuously target ways to make the side stronger as the club looks to compete on multiple fronts every season.

And Lukeba would provide top-tier cover and competition for first choice centre-back pair William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.

Lukeba's release clause revealed

The 23-year-old has a £78.2m release clause in his contract, however Arsenal feel they could negotiate that fee down to £52.1m.

Lukeba has been a regular feature for RB Leipzig this season having started 16 of 21 league matches.

The German side also boast one of the best defensive records in Germany’s top tier this term having conceded 28 times.

French centre-back a wanted man

Arsenal would have to beat off competition from a number of Premier League and European sides in order to win the race for Lukeba.

Tottenham, Manchester United and Real Madrid are all monitoring Lukeba, while Aston Villa have also been credited with an interest in the centre-back.