Journalist says Arsenal will need to pay 'a lot of money' to sign Barcelona attacker who has been compared to Samuel Eto'o

CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs believes Arsenal will have to spend heavily if they wish to sign Barcelona forward Ansu Fati.

Fati is one of the most exciting talents to have come out of the Blaugrana's famed La Masia academy. The club trusted him to take over the No. 10 jersey after Lionel Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.

His former teammate and Barcelona legend Dani Alves even compared him to legendary forward Samuel Eto'o, saying (as quoted by TBR Football):

“Ansu was born to score goals. He reminds me a lot of Samuel Eto’o. He is a machine for destroying defences.”

Fati made his debut for the Catalans in the 2019-20 season, going on to play 33 times across all competitions and scoring eight goals.

The Spaniard started the following campaign in superb fashion, netting five times in 10 matches. However, he picked up a meniscal laceration that ruled him out for the rest of the season and part of the 2021-22 campaign as well.

Hamstring injuries and further fitness issues restricted Fati to just 15 appearances last season. The arrivals of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, as well as Ousmane Dembele's excellent pre-injury form, have kept him on Barcelona's bench for most of this season as well.

Xavi Hernandez's decision to deploy a four-man midfield in Dembele's absence has also meant there was no space for Fati in the XI.

This in turn led to rumors surrounding his future. Transfer news specialist Fabrizio Romano reported in early February that Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool were all interested in signing Fati. Romano added, however, that the Blaugrana wanted to keep him.

Jacobs has now stated that Arsenal and other interested English clubs may have to pay over the odds for Fati. He told GiveMeSport:

“After a while, when you [Fati] have the number 10 in Barcelona, if you don't do that, you start to fall down the pecking order at which point there might be an opportunity for a Premier League club to pounce.

“But at this point, the Premier League clubs that are being linked are going to have to spend a lot of money and may feel that the Barcelona valuation is too high at this point to seriously advance anything.”

Fati, who has a contract at the Spotify Camp Nou until 2027, recently spoke on rumors linking him with a move away from the club. The Arsenal-linked forward stated that he wishes to stay with the Catalans for as long as possible (via Fabrizio Romano on Twitter).

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Arsenal-linked Ansu Fati has completed 90' in a La Liga game just once for Barcelona this season

Ansu Fati's fitness issues have been a repeated concern for Barcelona. The Spaniard has also struggled to show the level of explosivity he seemed to possess in abundance prior to his series of injury problems.

This has meant the rumored Arsenal target has fallen in the pecking order. Fati has started just eight of 21 La Liga matches this term and has completed the entire 90 minutes on only one occasion (1-0 La Liga win over Getafe in January).

However, with Robert Lewandowski recently picking up a left hamstring injury, he could get an extended run in the Barcelona starting XI. Ousmane Dembele is also currently sidelined with a thigh injury.

Fati will likely get his chance to impress in El Clasico when his side take on Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on March 2.