Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to sign £55m star after being impressed, Guardiola says he’s a ‘top player’
Sport Bild reports that Mikel Arteta now wants Arsenal to sign Barcelona star Ferran Torres – who Pep Guardiola has labelled a ‘top player’.
The Gunners look likely to dip in the market in January to bolster their attacking options after Gabriel Jesus picked up an injury at the World Cup.
The 25-year-old looks set to be sidelined for up to three months and Eddie Nketiah is currently the only back-up option to the Brazilian at the club.
Arteta’s men have been linked with moves for a host of forward players since the Jesus news broke and now it seems the Spaniard could be targeting a player he worked with at Manchester City.
Arsenal want to sign Torres
Sport Bild reports that Arsenal now hold an interest in signing Torres from Barcelona.
The Spaniard only completed a switch from Manchester to La Liga back in January in a deal worth up to £54.7 million (Sky Sports).
But the outlet notes that Torres hasn’t quite lived up to the ‘expectations’ he arrived with under Xavi.
The Catalan club also brought in the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha over the summer, meaning Torres has struggled to nail down a place in Xavi’s side.
A potential move to north London wouldn’t be cheap though, with Torres currently tied down until 2027 after signing for Barca just under a year ago.
But Arsenal currently have the ‘best’ chance of snapping up the 22-year-old, despite apparent interest from their bitter rivals Tottenham and AC Milan.
Torres worked with Arteta during their time at City together and the Arsenal boss is ‘mainly’ thinking of his former colleague.
The Barca man has mainly been limited to substitute appearances under Xavi but has managed to bag five goals and provide one assist in 18 appearances.
He also scored two goals at the World Cup before Spain were knocked out by Morocco on penalties in the last-16.
Torres actually bagged a brace against Arteta’s men at the beginning of last season as City thrashed them 5-0 at the Etihad. It led to Guardiola labelling the Spaniard a ‘top player’ after he put in a dazzling display.
Of course, Arsenal have come a long way under Arteta since then and now actually sit five points above Guardiola’s side at the top of the Premier League table.
Arsenal are likely to be linked with countless attacking players over the coming weeks after Jesus’ injury. It seems unlikely that Barca would be willing to let Torres leave just a year after paying a sizeable fee to bring him to Spain.
And if they are willing to sell the forward, Arsenal will have to pay big to land him. Torres would be a brilliant addition to Arteta’s squad and is capable of playing in all three roles across the frontline. But this move certainly seems unlikely at this moment in time.
