Arsenal keen on signing 'next Andres Iniesta' but face competition from Barcelona and Liverpool: Reports

Arsenal have been linked with a move for Royal Antwerp's Arthur Vermeeren, who has been compared to former Barcelona icon Andres Iniesta.

As per reports from TEAMtalk (via The Express), the Gunners will face stiff competition from Barca, Liverpool and Manchester United among others, as they all race to sign the 18-year-old Belgian.

The fee that Arsenal would have to cough up in order to secure Arthur Vermeeren in a potential January transfer is in the region of £15 million.

Having already splashed £105 million on the acquisition of Declan Rice from West Ham United, the Gunners could acquire this potential midfield partner for nearly a tenth of the price.

Vermeeren progressed through the youth ranks at Royal Antwerp before making his debut for their senior team in 2022. He was also recently called up to Belgium's squad to replace injured Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard.

Such has been his rise into prominence that former Arsenal and Barcelona star Marc Overmars, also the current director of Royal Antwerp, gave him his flowers, via FCBN:

"I do not have doubts that (Arthur) Vermeeren can play for Barcelona. When I played here, I could see the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta growing... And now that I compare that to Vermeeren, they have the same profile."

Arsenal have been on the lookout for players in central midfield as age and injury concerns are catching up with both Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny. This leaves them with Declan Rice as the only deep-lying option.

Adding Vermeeren could alleviate some of these concerns as he could potentially partner Rice and Martin Odegaard in midfield.

The Belgian youngster made 40 appearances for Antwerp across competitions last season, scoring two goals and providing two assists. Match fitness is unlikely to be an issue for the budding teenager should the move happen.

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Barcelona interested in 31-year-old Arsenal midfielder Jorginho

Since Joan Laporta's ascent to the post of Barca president, the club have been linked with a variety of names in every transfer window. The players have ranged from promising talents to bonafide professionals, with the latest addition to the wishlist being Italian midfielder Jorginho.

He joined Arsenal from Chelsea for a fee of £12 million in January, and has made 24 appearances for the Gunners since then. While his play time was mostly as a substitute, he could be offered a bigger role by Barcelona, who are dealing with an injury crisis.

As reported by journalist Ekrem Konur, Barcelona, Napoli and Juventus are among the clubs interested in signing Jorginho.

Barcelona could be the biggest beneficiaries as they would have a player to rotate with Ilkay Gundogan, considering both are in their 30s. It would also provide them some valuable cover while Frenkie De Jong recovers from injury.

Whether or not the Catalans come out on top in their pursuit of the Italian remains to be seen.