According to a recent report from The Daily Star, Arsenal and Tottenham are keeping tabs on defender Eric Bailly. The 24-year-old currently plays his football at Premier League giants Manchester United and has done so since 2016, although he appears to have fallen down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho in recent times despite making a reasonably encouraging start to life at Old Trafford.

And reports suggest that Unai Emery’s Arsenal and Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham are interested in a move for the centre back in the near future, and while moving to Spurs may well be of interest to Bailly, he should forget about them and instead join their North London rivals Arsenal.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, Pochettino’s Tottenham are reasonably well-stocked in the centre back department with the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, and Davinson Sanchez, all of whom have proven to be very adept and accomplished Premier League defenders during their respective times at the club.

Add in Eric Dier and Juan Foyth, and Spurs boss Pochettino has plenty of options to choose from in the centre back department, and as such it’s difficult to see Bailly breaking into his starting eleven on a regular basis, even more so given the Argentine has often utilised a back four as opposed to a back three this term.

Yet the opposite appears to be true at the Emirates Stadium under Emery, with the centre back ranks remaining something of a concern despite the summer arrival of Sokratis from Borussia Dortmund.

The Greece international has looked pretty solid in the early stages of his Gunners career to suggest that the North London giants may have finally found a suitable partner for Laurent Koscielny, but with the Frenchman himself having just turned 33, it remains to be seen how much longer he has left at the top level.

And outside of that duo, there are question marks over the capabilities of Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi, certainly the latter who has wholly unconvinced in recent times, thus suggesting that further reinforcements are needed in that area of the pitch - there’s a reason Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes that Emery’s men will get a hiding in the not-too-distant future.

Thus, there appears to be a greater opportunity of regular first team football at Arsenal than at Tottenham at present, which will surely be of interest to Bailly given that is likely one of the reasons why he is not overly satisfied with life at Manchester United.

Add in the effect that Bailly could have on an Arsenal team seemingly on the up under new boss Emery, having won their last nine matches in a row, and it’s a project which could well appeal to the Ivory Coast international as he seeks to progress his career.

Thus, while there are clearly benefits of joining Tottenham, the chance of more regular first team football appears more presentable at Emery’s Arsenal, which is why Bailly should seek to choose them over their North London rivals.

Arsenal and Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!