Report: Arsenal monitoring long-time Mikel Arteta favourite as he could become available
Arsenal are reportedly one of the clubs keeping a close eye on developments regarding Barcelona forward Ferran Torres.
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The versatile Spain international has shone during his time at Barca but could surprisingly be available this summer due help the club with their financial problems.
That’s according to a report from TEAMtalk, who mention Arsenal alongside Manchester United and Atletico Madrid as potential suitors for Torres.
The report states that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a long-time admirers of Torres, who has also previously played in England with Manchester City.
Arteta was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City before becoming Gunners boss, and although he and Torres did not overlap at the Etihad Stadium, it’s possible that he’d been monitored by the club’s coaching staff for a while before he actually joined.
Where next for Ferran Torres?
Arteta’s desire to work with Torres could put Arsenal in a good position for his signature this summer, but the 26-year-old will also want to play regularly.
Despite contributing 16 goals and one assist in all competitions this season, Torres hasn’t quite established himself as a regular starter for Barcelona, so he’ll want a more important role wherever he goes next.
Arsenal have a lot of attacking options, so it’s not guaranteed he’d start much at the Emirates Stadium, but perhaps that could change if injury-prone forwards like Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus leave.
Man Utd, meanwhile, might also find a role for the former City man after slightly inconsistent form from Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko this term.
Barcelona making changes up front
TEAMtalk also suggest one reason Barcelona are looking to offload Torres is so they can use him in potential swap deals.
Offering Torres to Atletico Madrid could help the Catalan giants in their pursuit of Julian Alvarez, while it might also be a good way to bring the price tag down for on-loan Marcus Rashford if they want to sign the United star permanently.
It will be interesting to see if there are any Arsenal players who might be of interest to Barca in such a deal, but no obvious candidates come to mind.
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