Trouble in the outskirts of Nantes resulting in arrests (5)
I believe the answer is:
nails
'arrests' is the definition.
(I know this)
'trouble in the outskirts of nantes' is the wordplay.
'trouble' becomes 'ail' (synonyms).
'in the' indicates putting letters inside.
'outskirts of' means to remove the middle letters (only letters on the outskirts).
'nantes' with its centre removed is 'ns'.
'ail' inserted inside 'ns' is 'NAILS'.
'resulting in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for nails that I've seen before include "Metal fasteners" , "measure of hardness?" , "Horny plates and pointed pins" , "Part of body; hard as them" , "Claws" .)