Arsenal have made an offer for Ansu Fati but the attacker is determined to stay at Barcelona and prove himself under Xavi, according to Sport.
Mikel Arteta is keen on bolstering his attacking options as he looks to build a squad capable of competing on all fronts this season. The Gunners return to the Champions League this campaign and want to make another push for the Premier League title, and Arteta needs competition for the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus is facing a spell on the sidelines after undergoing minor knee surgery last week and Arsenal could do with reinforcements up front. The Brazilian missed three months of action last term after sustaining another knee injury at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Arsenal have already brought in Kai Havertz from Chelsea and the German international is capable of playing as a striker, but Arteta has plans to use him as an attacking midfielder this season.
Reinforcement
Fati has now emerged as a potential target for Arsenal as Sport claims that the Gunners are showing serious interest in signing the youngster this summer and have made a ‘very tempting’ offer.
The 20-year-old is regarded as one of the best young talents in Spain so he would be an excellent signing if Arsenal could pull it off. He has made 109 appearances for Barcelona, netting 29 goals and recording 10 assists across all competitions since making his first-team debut at age 16.
Last season, he featured in 51 games in all competitions and made 14 goal contributions as Barca won the La Liga title with most of his appearances coming as a substitute.
The highly-rated forward was on the score-sheet for the second consecutive time in Barca’s 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur to win the Joan Gamper Trophy on Tuesday. After the game, Xavi remained coy about Fati’s future at the club.
“Ansu? We’ll see. Until August 31, there’s a long way to go,” he said.
There have been reports suggesting that Barca may be tempted to cash-in on Fati to help ease their financial troubles and to raise funds for new signings. The youngster is valued at £30m by Transfermarkt but Barcelona would expect more if they were to sell this summer.
It’s not known how much Arsenal put on the table but Sport says the offer was rejected by the Catalans while Fati was also reluctant to leave the Nou Camp as he wants to prove himself under Xavi. Therefore, it looks like the Gunners face a fight to get a deal done.
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