Arsenal have been backed to hijack Liverpool’s move for PSG winger Bradley Barcola after completing a £75m deal for Bruno Guimaraes.
Brazilian midfielder Guimaraes was unveiled to Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday following his move from Newcastle United.
Guimaraes became Mikel Arteta’s third signing of the summer following Greek winger Christos Tzolis and French goalkeeper Illan Meslier.
Arsenal were also hoping to welcome Vinicius Junior to north London in one of the biggest transfers in Premier League history but the Brazil icon ended up signing a new contract with Real Madrid.
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Arteta remains interested in signing another winger, however, and have been linked with Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford since missing out on Vinicius.
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PSG and France forward Barcola is another possible transfer option and former Arsenal striker Perry Groves has given the Gunners real hope of beating Liverpool to a stunning deal.
Liverpool have identified Barcola, 23, as their top target this summer and are reportedly ready to pay £100m for the Frenchman, although PSG are holding out for an offer closer to £150m.
Barcola, who has won two Champions League titles at PSG, is expected to leave the Ligue 1 champions after stalling over signing a new contract.
Liverpool were thought to be leading the race to secure Barcola’s signature but Groves says he has been told that the winger would rather move to London.
Asked whether Barcola would be better suited to Arsenal or Liverpool, Groves told talkSPORT: ‘I’ve got no dog in the fight, but I would say the Gooners because Liverpool are a team that are in transition.
‘Andoni Iraola going in there, imposing his own philosophy, his own style with all the new signings coming in.
‘If you were Barcola and you thought, what out of those two sides have got the most chance of winning the Premier League or Champions League, at the moment you’d say it was Arsenal.
‘So it’s whether Arsenal want to go in, if they go in for him, then there would have been advances being made to his people.
