Arsenal enquire about future Ballon d’Or hopeful amid Aston Villa and Man Utd midfielder competition

Arsenal finished 2nd behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race again last season. They have still made great strides under Mikel Arteta over recent years though.

The Gunners have the chance to bolster their ranks this summer with some signings. Here is a look at some of the latest news and rumours coming out of the club...

Attacker latest

Arsenal have enquired about the availability of PSV attacker Johan Bakayoko, according to a report by Dhnet.

Bakayoko, who is 21-year-old, is currently away at Euro 2024 with the Belgium national team and is being tipped for a bright future in the game.

He had spells in the academies at OH Leuven, Club Brugge, Mechelen and Anderlecht before finally signing for his current team in 2019. 

The winger has made 85 appearances for PSV in all competitions to date and has chipped in with 21 goals and 19 assists.

Bakayoko is under contract until June 2026 meaning the Eredivisie giants are under no pressure to cash in on him just yet unless an offer that they can’t refuse comes in for his signature.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, he said: “In the next five years, I want to be close to winning the Ballon d’Or. I’ll do my best and see where it can end, but I don’t want to give myself limits. I don’t want to say, ‘I remember when I won the Ballon d’Or’, or something like this. I want to keep going.

“I don’t care (who I come up against). I don’t think: ‘This guy is better than such and such’. Instead, it’s: ‘I’ve received the ball — he needs to take the ball off me’. If I get the ball I can go left, right… but he needs to adapt to me as I don’t want to adapt to anyone.

“I’m really happy and lucky I have a trainer who gives me the freedom to do what I want because I really don’t (like tracking back). It stops you from (trying to attack).”

On his future, he said: “I see myself playing everywhere, anywhere. I follow the Premier League — I have friends there. I also have friends that play in Germany, so I watch a lot of games when they play. But this season I haven’t even talked about leaving.

“I was just thinking about preparing for the Euros, just trying my best to be fit.”

Midfielder update

Arsenal have been credited with an interest in Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot along with Aston Villa and Manchester United, as per TEAMtalk, with the latter said to be in ‘constant contact’ with him at the moment.

Arteta’s side would have to see off competition from the Red Devils if they were to lure the Frenchman to the Emirates Stadium anytime soon.

He would add more competition and depth to their midfield department, as well as injecting some quality into his ranks. Like Bakayoko, he is in Germany right now as he looks to help his country win the tournament.