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Arsenal in battle with Barcelona to sign Renato Sanches

By on January 7, 2022

According to reports via The Sun, Arsenal are facing a fierce battle with Barcelona over the signing of £25m-rated Lille midfielder Renato Sanches this month.

After a shocking start to the new season, Mikel Arteta appears to have Arsenal heading in the right direction as we currently sit in the top four of the Premier League table at the half way stage of the campaign.

However, the boss knows he needs to keep strengthening the squad if we’re to compete for major honours again and while a new striker is the utmost priority, Arsenal also need to improve in midfield.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has joined AS Roma on loan while Mohamed Elneny’s future at the club is also uncertain. Granit Xhaka is a contentious figure at the club and many, myself included, feel we need an upgrade in the middle of the park.

With Thomas Partey [and Elneny] away at the AFCON, Arsenal are now desperately short of options in midfield so Arteta is being tipped to dip into the transfer market for reinforcements this month.

Sanches has long been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium and The Sun says Arsenal have been plotting a move for the Portuguese international since Lille confirmed in October he could leave in January if a suitable offer arrived.

The newspaper suggests that Arsenal were hoping a £25m bid would be enough to get a deal agreed but it looks like we’ll face stiff competition as The Sun cites Portuguese broadcaster ELEVEN as reporting that Barcelona have now joined the chase for Sanches.

According to the report, Barca boss Xavi has made signing Sanches a top priority as he looks to rebuild at the Nou Camp so Arsenal will have to fend off interest from one of Europe’s biggest clubs if we want to land the former Benfica star.

The 24-year-old struggled during spells at Bayern Munich and Swansea but has rediscovered his best form since joining Lille in 2019 and he’s now considered to be one of the best central midfielders in Ligue 1.

I think Sanches would be a solid signing but I can’t help but think we might need to be a bit more ambitious if we want to turn Arsenal into title challengers again.

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