Report: Barcelona keeping tabs on new Arsenal hero, Cesc Fabregas is his idol

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Spanish newspaper Marca claim that Arsenal midfielder Charlie Patino is attracting interest from Barcelona ahead of the January window. The talented teenager opened his goalscoring account for Arsenal on Tuesday night.

Patino, 18, was finally handed his senior Arsenal debut in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals – a 5-1 win over Sunderland. Eddie Nketiah got a hat-trick, while Nicolas Pepe also got his name on the score sheet at The Emirates.

England Under-19 star Patino has established himself as a regular in Arsenal’s reserve side. His form in Premier League 2 was seemingly enough for Arteta to give him a chance in the first-team – and he duly delivered.

Plenty are excited at the prospect of Patino – another name on the conveyor belt of Hale End talent. Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe, Joe Willock, Nketiah and Reiss Nelson are other examples in the past few seasons.

But Patino has the potential to surpass those players. Arsenal fans and staff are not the only ones excited by Patino, with Marca claiming Barcelona are interested – as are Spain, who might try to convince him to switch allegiance.

Barcelona eye Patino: Arsenal must do everything necessary to keep him

Patino signed his first professional contract back in October 2020. While it was not made clear how long that contract was for, it is unlikely that the youngster was given more than three years.

Arsenal need to hand Patino a new contract as soon as possible in order to fend off the interest of the likes of Barcelona. More so, to stop Patino’s head from being turned. Though, his main focus will be Arsenal right now.