Mikel Arteta is already short of fit center-backs. Piero Hincapié picked up an ankle injury during a warm-down drill after Arsenal’s 2-1 win at Leeds on 10 October, and the manager has told reporters the Ecuadorian will miss several weeks.

“Piero is improving but it looks more significant. I think it will be a matter of weeks but we don’t know exactly how many,” Arteta said.

Into that gap steps a familiar name. Arsenal chief scout Maurizio Micheli has raised the possibility of Kim Min-jae with the club internally, according to Bild transfer insider Christian Falk, who confirmed on the Bayern Insider podcast that the South Korean is “officially on Arsenal’s list”.

The Napoli reunion angle

The link is personal rather than tactical. Micheli signed Kim for Napoli from Fenerbahçe for €19m in 2022, a transfer that turned the 29-year-old into one of Europe’s most sought-after defenders inside twelve months. His former Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti once called Kim “the best centre-back in the world”.

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That reputation has dimmed in Bavaria. Kim arrived at Bayern in 2023 but is now third in Vincent Kompany’s center-back order behind Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah, who signed in 2025. He has played 489 minutes across six competitive appearances this season, with no goal involvement, and Bayern Insider reporter Julian Agardi noted on the same podcast that Kim “has so far failed to consistently reach that level at FC Bayern.”

Bayern’s door is shut for January

The problem for Arsenal is timing. Kim’s contract runs to 2028, and Bayern plan to open extension talks around the winter break rather than entertain a mid-season sale. Falk and Agardi were both blunt about January on the podcast.

“Whether Bayern would even let him go in the winter, that’s the big question,” Falk said.

“I can’t imagine under any circumstances that Bayern would let him go in the winter,” Agardi added.

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Bayern’s position has been reinforced by Hiroki Ito’s injury history, which has kept Kim in the first-team picture as fourth-choice insurance even when Upamecano and Tah are fit. The 90min report confirming the planned extension talks described the renewed offer to Kim as “a big surprise” given earlier signals the club was willing to listen to bids.

Munich first, then the window

Arsenal travel to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday 21 October, kick-off at 9pm local time, for the Champions League league-phase meeting between the two clubs. Kim is expected to be in Bayern’s matchday squad; whether he starts against Arsenal will depend on how Kompany reads the fixture against Upamecano’s current form.

Arteta has Ezri Konsa, Gabriel and William Saliba as his senior center-back options at the Emirates while Hincapié recovers. The next Arsenal fixture before Munich is at home to Nottingham Forest, where Martin Zubimendi, who picked up a lesser ankle problem in the same training session, is expected to be available.

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