Arsenal Transfer News: Phil Jones Pursuit Rebuffed By Manchester United

Arsenal needs a center back to be a serious contender for the Premier League title after finishing second to Leicester City last season.

The club’s defensive issues were glaring in an opening weekend loss to Liverpool at Emirates Stadium, and improvement is unlikely to happen without outside reinforcements brought in through the transfer market.

One center back who seems unlikely to come to Arsenal is Manchester United’s Phil Jones. The reason for it, according to the Manchester Evening Standard is “because (United manager) Jose Mourinho doesn’t want to do business with (Arsenal manager) Arsene Wenger.”

Quite frankly, the Gunners dodged a bullet here, assuming this is actually how Mourinho feels and Jones remains at Old Trafford.

Jones has not come close to fulfilling his potential as the next great English center back (remember the future England captain talk?). Arsenal can and should target much better players to find a partner for Laurent Koscielny in the center of the defense.

The summer transfer window closes Aug. 31, so time is running out for Arsenal.