Arsenal prepared to pay £67million transfer fee for attacker also eyed up by Chelsea

Arsenal are being linked with Barcelona misfit Ousmane Dembele.

Arsenal are reportedly ready to pay up as much as £67million for the transfer of Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele.

This rather outlandish rumour comes from Spanish outlet Don Balon, who also link Chelsea as big admirers of his, while Liverpool are described as hovering in the background.

It’s months away from the transfer window so who knows how reliable this is? That said, Dembele has had a bit of a nightmare at Barcelona and a departure at the end of this season would not be surprising.

The France international also makes sense as a target for the big boys of the Premier League, as many of them will feel he could yet revive his career.

Still only 22, Dembele once looked an incredible talent at previous club Borussia Dortmund, and if he could get back to his best he could do an important job for Arsenal.

The Gunners signed Nicolas Pepe for big money last summer but he’s failed to settle so far, while Alexandre Lacazette is having a real off-season and Reiss Nelson has not developed as hoped.

Dembele could give Mikel Arteta another option in attack, but Don Balon also link him with Chelsea and, for the moment, they look like being the team who’ll be able to offer him Champions League football.

With a top four spot looking out of reach, it’s now vital we can step it up in the Europa League if we are to be able to lure targets like this to the Emirates Stadium.