Arsenal may have been handed a potential blow in the race for the Spanish right-back Ivan Fresneda, with Borussia Dortmund believed to be offering Real Valladolid to keep him until the end of the season.

What's the latest?

It is believed the Gunners are one of the clubs who are showing serious interest in the 18-year-old prospect this month, but they are not the only ones.

Indeed, there is reported interest coming from across Europe with Newcastle United said to have held interest from the beginning of the month.

And the German giants, Dortmund, are also said to be among the favourites in the race to acquire the services of the Valladolid talent.

Speaking on the House of Champions YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano has shared the latest on Fresneda's future with the Bundesliga club offering a potentially attractive proposal for the Spanish side:

"What I'm told is that Borussia Dortmund are offering to Real Valladolid to keep the player for six months. So they sign the player now for €15m and let the player stay on loan till the end of the season there. So this could be a key point for the deal, but the player has not decided yet."

A blow for Arsenal?

It will be interesting to see if this proposal could potentially see the La Liga side favour Dortmund as the potential landing spot for their 18-year-old prospect.

However, we do not think there is any reason why Arsenal would be unable to match Dortmund's offer and allow him to return to Spain for the rest of the 2022/23 campaign.

There is no apparent weakness at the right-back spot at the Emirates Stadium this season with Ben White starting all 19 of the Gunners Premier League games so far.

And lying in wait is Japan international Takehiro Tomiyasu, who played the entire game in their round of 16 defeat against Croatia in the 2022 World Cup.

So even if Fresneda was to arrive in north London this month, it would potentially raise question marks as to whether he would be able to break his way into the matchday squad.

With this in mind, we think it could actually benefit Arsenal if they were to allow Fresneda to return for the remainder of the campaign where he could continue his development in Spain.

The 18-year-old has made seven starts in La Liga this season with four of them coming from the last five games (via Transfermarkt).

However, if Arsenal do not plan to introduce him straight into the matchday squad, then perhaps leaving him in Spain for the remainder of the season could prove advantageous for Mikel Arteta.