Barcelona star ‘would seriously consider’ Arsenal transfer as Gunners work to extend four deals

Barcelona winger Raphinha would be open to joining Arsenal in the summer transfer window if he’s told to leave the Camp Nou, according to reports.

The Gunners are having a brilliant season in the Premier League so far with Mikel Arteta’s side currently leading the table by six points, although second-placed Manchester City have a game in hand.

With a Champions League place all but secured, Arsenal can start planning for the summer transfer window with the Gunners now shopping in a different market to last summer.

Like a number of other Premier League clubs, midfielders seem to be right at the top of the Arsenal shopping list but there could be room for at least one attacker too.

After missing out on Mykhaylo Mudryk in the January transfer window, the Gunners turned to Leandro Trossard with Barcelona winger Raphinha also linked.

Arsenal were reportedly one of the interested teams in the Brazilian before he left Leeds for Barcelona last summer with Raphinha having his heart set on a transfer to the Camp Nou.

But the 26-year-old has not played as many games as he would’ve liked with Ousmane Dembele ahead of him in the pecking order at the La Liga outfit.

And now Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke has told GiveMeSport that Arsenal are one team Raphinha “would seriously consider” if he were to leave Barcelona in the summer in search of game time.

O’Rourke told GiveMeSport: “I’m sure Raphinha, if he was to leave Barcelona, Arsenal would maybe be one of the clubs that he would seriously consider, considering the project that’s going on right now at the Emirates Stadium.

“Obviously, it looks like Champions League football is going to be on offer at Arsenal and they could be Premier League title winners as well. So it’s an exciting project for any player that Arsenal are interested in and will boost their chances of signing their top targets.

“If Arsenal are playing Champions League football next season, they’re going to have to bolster their squad and Raphinha could be an astute signing.”

And with a number of players having brilliant seasons at the Emirates Stadium, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists that Arsenal are attempting to tie down four players to new contracts.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Some updates on potential new contracts at Arsenal! Firstly, the Gunners consider Granit Xhaka a really important player. There is an option on the club’s side to extend his contract until June 2025…