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From France: Arsenal battling Euro giants over deal to sign £35m Ligue 1 star

By on July 12, 2018

According to reports coming out of France, Arsenal and Barcelona are leading the race to sign Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot this summer.

Rabiot has long been linked with a move to Arsenal with former boss Arsene Wenger a huge admirer of the French international’s and the speculation has continued following Unai Emery’s arrival as manager.

The Spaniard obviously knows Rabiot well from their two years together at PSG and the 23-year-old midfielder made 44 appearances to help win a domestic treble under Emery last season.

However, despite his excellent form, Rabiot missed out on a place in Dider Deschamps French World Cup squad and the snub has reportedly led to him questioning his future at the Parc des Princes.

TeamTalk reported earlier this month that Rabiot was contemplating a move this summer and suggested that any deal would cost in the region of £35m – which seems reasonable for a player of his quality in today’s market.

It looks like Emery is now ready to raid his former club as GFFN cite French outlet RMC Sport as saying that Arsenal and Barcelona are leading the chase to sign Rabiot this summer.

Emery has already signed defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria while highly-rated young midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has arrived from Lorient so we weren’t expected to be in the market for another midfield player.

If the reported interest in Rabiot is true, then it suggests that one of our current players must be leaving. Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka have both signed new contracts recently so that leaves Aaron Ramsey.

MORE: Arsenal boss hints at more signings

The Welshman has just one year left on his contract and has so far failed to agree terms over an extension and with reports suggesting Arsenal will sell if he doesn’t commit his future to the club, Emery could be lining-up Rabiot as a potential replacement.

There is a slim chance we might buy a third midfielder as we sold Francis Coquelin in January and have lost Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere this summer but I’d still be surprised to see us sign Rabiot without selling someone first.