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Arsenal battling to sign £33m Ligue 1 star

By on April 25, 2017

According to the Daily Star, Arsenal are in a battle with several top European clubs to try and sign £33m Monaco star Fabinho this summer.

Fabinho emerged as one of the best attacking full-backs in the world after joining Monaco in 2013 but he’s been transformed in to a defensive midfielder this season.

The 23-year-old has been excellent in his new role and has played a key role in helping Monaco to the top of the Ligue 1 table and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

The Brazilian international has caught the eye of several clubs throughout Europe with the Daily Star naming Arsenal as one of those who have expressed their interest in signing the player this summer.

However, the newspaper says we’ll face stiff competition from the likes of Man Utd, Man City, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Napoli to land the versatile midfielder.

Fabinho signed a new contract last year that tied him to Monaco until 2021 so the Star suggest it will take a fee of around £33m to persuade the French outfit to cash in this summer.

The news comes after Fabinho’s own father revealed last month that they have been in talks with Arsenal, United and City over a possible move to England so it does seem our interest is concrete.

Joao Roberto Tavares is quoted by Sky Sports last month:

“We have talked to Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, we have even been approached by Barcelona, but it didn’t go any further.

“We like Manchester United and the work of [Jose] Mourinho, but we have a little soft spot for City.”

We’ve had issues in central midfield this season with Santi Cazorla injured as we haven’t really found the right partner for Granit Xhaka with Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny and more recently Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all failing to hold down a regular spot.

READ: Arsenal to make £20m attacker bid

I still believe we need a traditional defensive midfielder to protect the back four and Fabinho would be an excellent addition but it looks as though we face a tough fight to win the race for his signature.