Report: £20m player to 'escape' from Barcelona's grasp, it's presumed he's going to sign for Arsenal

By Ben Evans

Arsenal are less than two weeks away from their brilliant Premier League campaign starting again.

Mikel Arteta’s side are five points clear of Manchester City, and have only dropped five points all season.

A report from Sport in Spain has provided an update on a player who could enhance their title challenge.

The January transfer window is the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to make a few necessary upgrades to the squad.

A forward will be high on Mikel Arteta’s shopping list after Gabriel Jesus suffered a serious injury.

Right now, all signs point towards Mykhaylo Mudryk being their top target in that area.

Arteta also wants to add another central midfielder to his ranks.

He missed out on both Douglas Luiz and Danilo at the very end of the summer transfer window.

However, Sport’s report suggests that Barcelona now believe Youri Tielemans will sign for Arsenal in January

The Catalan club were keen on signing the Belgian international, but has resigned themselves to missing out.

Tielemans will sign for Arsenal – Sport

The report says that, ‘Youri Tielemans is one of the midfielders that FC Barcelona had on their agenda but it will very possibly escape them because presumably their destination will be Arsenal.’

It’s a sign of where the two clubs currently are that this situation has taken place.

Both sides sit top of their respective leagues with identical records.

They’ll both also spend the second half of the season competing in the Europa League, although Barcelona face a play-off against Manchester United.

However, Barcelona’s financial situation is a mess, and they look unable to compete with the likes of Arsenal in the market.

Their belief that Arsenal will sign Tielemans is a good sign for the Gunners, as the 25-year-old has been a long-term target.

Sport believe Arsenal will offer Leicester £20m to secure the Belgian’s services.

Journalist Ben Jacobs believes Tielemans has his heart set on a move to Arsenal.

He could finally get his wish in a few weeks’ time when the January window opens.