Jarell Quansah: Arsenal chase the defender Thomas Tuchel rates above Trent Alexander-Arnold

Highlights:

• Arsenal are in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a possible deal for England defender Jarell Quansah.
• Quansah made Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad as a right-back option this summer, chosen ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
• Leverkusen paid Liverpool £30m for Quansah last July and are reportedly reluctant to sell, with four years left on his contract and a Liverpool buy-back clause still attached.

Arsenal are exploring a move for Jarell Quansah, opening talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a defender Mikel Arteta sees as cover for two problem positions at once. Quansah only left Liverpool for Germany last summer, in a £30m deal, and has spent the time since turning himself into one of Thomas Tuchel's trusted England options.

That last part is the detail worth sitting with. When Tuchel needed a right-back for this year's World Cup, he picked Quansah over Trent Alexander-Arnold..

Why Arsenal need him now

William Saliba is injured, Jurrien Timber is still working back from a groin problem that's kept him out since March, and Ben White's injury record speaks for itself. Arsenal's own numbers make the gap obvious: their win rate drops from 68 per cent with Saliba starting to 50 per cent without him. Cristhian Mosquera was forced to fill in at right-back out of position in the Champions League final defeat in Budapest, and conceded a penalty doing it.

Ezri Konsa had also been on Arsenal's list, but Aston Villa's asking price is reportedly too steep for a 28-year-old. At 23, Quansah offers something Konsa doesn't: genuine versatility across both problem positions, at a stage of his career where his value should still be rising rather than about to peak.

The Trent detail, and why it's not just speculation

Quansah is a centre-back by background, but spent last season on the right of a back three at Leverkusen, often drifting into a position that functions like a traditional right-back in the Bundesliga. That was enough to earn him a place in Tuchel's World Cup squad as a right-back option, and Tuchel hasn't been shy about where that leaves Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order.

Speaking to Bundesliga's official site, Tuchel praised Quansah's height, pace and composure in possession, adding plainly: "he's slightly ahead" of Alexander-Arnold. Quansah made his senior England debut against Albania in November 2025, and went on to play three matches at this summer's World Cup.

Arsenal's own full-back role isn't quite that traditional shape, though. Timber and Riccardo Calafiori are frequently asked to invert into midfield, sometimes ending up as auxiliary forwards rather than defenders. Arteta has shown before he can accommodate a more orthodox defensive full-back in that system too, having used another former Leverkusen player, Piero Hincapie, in a similar role.

The tribute nobody who watched it forgot

Quansah's first season in Germany produced 44 appearances and a goal on his Bundesliga debut, scored in a 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim. He marked it with a tribute to Diogo Jota, his former Liverpool team-mate. It's the kind of detail that says as much about the player as any stat sheet does.

What's actually standing in the way

Leverkusen are reportedly reluctant to let him go, pleased with both his performances and how quickly he's settled into life in Germany. Arsenal are likely to have to pay well above the £30m Leverkusen paid Liverpool for him just over a year ago, with four years still left on his contract giving the German club little pressure to sell cheaply. Liverpool, for their part, retain a buy-back clause from the original deal, adding a third interested party to a negotiation that's only just begun.