Arsenal to trump Barcelona in chase for 20-year-old midfield ace with six goals and nine assists

Whether or not Arsenal secure a longed-for Premier League title this season, it’s clear that Mikel Arteta will want to continue to improve the Gunners.

The best teams always appear to strengthen when they’re at the top of their game rather than waiting for a mis-step here or there, and arguably that’s what keeps them ahead of their contemporaries.

Sir Alex Ferguson was the master of it at Man United, and Pep Guardiola is cut from the same cloth at Man City.

Arsenal are a long, long way away from either of those two era-defining squads at present, but there’s nothing to suggest that they can’t get there if the club continue to back the Spaniard in what he’s trying to achieve.

One player that the club apparently have their eye on is former Barca youth ace, Xavi Simons, currently plying his trade at RB Leipzig on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, according to Sport Bild (h/t Football Transfers).

Bayern Munich and Inter are also credited with an interest in the 20-year-old who already has nine assists and six goals in 2023/24, so the Gunners will have their work cut out to land him.

That’s assuming that PSG are also willing to sell him of course.

Though it seems unlikely, the option of returning to the French giants is there, so any move may not be straightforward for Arteta.