Having already signed Laurent Koscielny, Arsene Wenger is yet to make a move to add Colombian centre-back Cristian Zapata to Arsenal’s defensive options.
Gunners’ boss Wenger reportedly attempted to sign the Udinese defender last summer and is rumoured to again be interested in the 22-year-old.
The 6.1ft central defender, who can also play as a right back, has been at Udinese since the 2005/2006 season after moving from Deportivo Cali. Last season, Zapata played 24 times, scoring once and picking up three yellow cards.
He is contracted to Udinese until the end of the 2010/2011 season and crucially speaks English which would aid his integration into English football. However, the player’s representative has now made it clear that Arsenal have yet to make a bid for the centre-back.
"It's nice to hear that Arsenal are interested in the player," said Zapata's agent Massimo Italiani to calciomercato.com.
"For several years now, Zatapa has been linked to prestigious clubs and that means that he is doing things well.
"Several Italian clubs are also interested in Zapata but for the time being, I have not received any offers from Italy or England.”
Zapata is tall, quick, aggressive and is able to dominate the opposition’s attack. His solitary goal last season came in a 2-1 win over AC Milan in the middle of May, it can be seen on the video below.
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