Arsenal preparing €40m offer for 21-year-old Barcelona midfielder after Arteta’s endorsement – Report | OneFootball

The midfield is one of the most competitive areas of this FC Barcelona team, as there are several very competitive players available for Hansi Flick to deploy in three positions in the middle of the park.

When everyone was available, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and Dani Olmo were the starters for the German coach last season. However, he faced a significant dearth of talent at the start of the season for this area of the pitch, as players like De Jong, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, and Dani Olmo were all unavailable due to injuries or registration issues.

In such a scenario, Flick decided to bet on two talents from the youth academy, as he first picked Marc Bernal as a starter, and after his injury, put his trust in Marc Casado. The latter of these players took full advantage of this opportunity and emerged as a breakout player last season.

Arsenal readying a big offer for Marc Casado

Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images

As a result of the good season he has had, his demand in the market has also increased. In fact, Fichajes reports that Arsenal are already looking to make an offer of around €40 million for the player.

Barcelona have recently completed the signing of Joan Garcia and are now close to tying down Nico Williams as well, and this potential income can seduce them to part ways with the La Masia graduate.

Mikel Arteta wants the midfielder

The Gunners’ head coach, Mikel Arteta, has been the one to identify Casado as a potential addition to his team, as he wants to link the Blaugrana midfielder with his compatriot Martin Zubimendi in his midfield.

The midfielder is not expected to enjoy the same level of prominence that he did last season, as in addition to Frenkie, Bernal would also be back in competition for the defensive midfielder spot. Thus, it remains to be seen how this operation develops and what decision Barcelona and the player make in this regard.