Arsenal targeting swoop for Arne Slot favourite at Feyenoord who admits he 'didn't really want' move to Chelsea

After earning his breakthrough under Arne Slot at Feyenoord, the 22-year-old has emerged as a crucial member of the Dutch giants' squad over the last two seasons before he suffered a serious knee injury in March. According to The Telegraph, Arsenal are contemplating signing Hartman, but they want to wait and see how he recovers from his injury first.

Arsenal's local rivals Chelsea had also inquired about the availability of Hartman over the January transfer window as they looked to plug defensive gaps left in Mauricio Pochettino's squad. However, Hartman revealed earlier this month, that he had rejected the move to Stamford Bridge.

He said to ESPN [via The Metro]: "I think they don’t want me now, but they really wanted me, yeah.

"It already started in the winter break. They came to Feyenoord, but at that moment I didn’t really want it myself. I had just broken through, just started playing everything and made it to the Dutch national team. The European Championship was coming.

"From Feyenoord, it was also clear: in the summer we are open to it, but not now.

"The last few months they came back and really wanted me. Unfortunately, things turned out differently. Now I’m staying with Feyenoord, but there’s a good chance it would have happened otherwise."

Hartman is not the only Feyenoord star that Arsenal are showing an interest in this season. They have made inquiries about goalkeeper Justin Bijlow as a replacement for Aaron Ramsdale for next season. The Gunners are looking to add depth to their ranks going into next season as they want to do better than their two-straight second-place finishes in the Premier League.

Hartman's recovery will be delayed until the beginning of the upcoming season, therefore it is possible that Arsenal may only want to make the move in January depending on his form and availability at that point.