Arsenal may be forced to brace themselves for interest in one of their star players when the summer transfer window opens later this year.

The Gunners had a relatively quiet January with no new signings added to Mikel Arteta's squad. Arsenal were heavily linked with signing a striker before Monday's deadline, but no deals were agreed despite links to Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins and Bayern Munich's Mathys Tel, who chose to join Tottenham Hotspur on loan.

In terms of exits, there have been few rumours so far crediting any members of Arteta's squad with a move away from the Emirates Stadium. That, however, has seemingly changed thanks to a report that has emerged from France.

READ MORE: Arsenal have advanced interest in beating Liverpool to £50m Mikel Merino upgrade transfer

READ MORE: Saka and White update, Arteta's new striker plan - Five things spotted in Arsenal Dubai training

According to RMC Sport, Real Madrid have identified William Saliba as one of their top transfer targets heading into the summer transfer window. The report claims that the La Liga giants want to sign the Arsenal centre-back, although it has not been stated what fee they would be willing to offer.

It must be stressed, though, that Arsenal are mentioned in the report as being determined to fend off interest from Madrid in Saliba, regardless of what fee the Spanish outfit may offer. Saliba has formed an impressive partnership alongside Gabriel at the heart of the Gunners defence and has played a key role in helping the club challenge for the Premier League title the last two-and-a-half years.

The report goes a step further by suggesting that, in order for Madrid to be successful in signing Saliba, they may have to pay a world-record transfer fee for a defender. That figure currently stands at £80million that Manchester United paid to sign Harry Maguire from Leicester City in the summer of 2019.