Arsenal face Man Utd Mangala fight, Liverpool go after Sagna

Gunners have been in talks with 23-year-old French defender, but United are also keen

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(Image credit: 2013 AFP)

AS ARSENAL prepare to bring Bayern Munich back down to earth, the Daily Star reports that Manchester United intend to blindside the Gunners by "stepping up pursuit" of Porto's Eliaquim Mangala.

As we reported last week, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has allegedly been in "secret talks" with the Frenchman and a deal was expected to be signed in the summer. But now it appears Olivier Giroud hasn't been the only man sneaking around of late because the Star claims that United scouts nipped over to Portugal on Sunday behind Wenger's back to watch Mangala star in Porto's 2-1 win at Gil Vicente.

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Bill Mann is a football correspondent for The Week.co.uk, scouring the world's football press daily for the popular Transfer Talk column.