by Lee Hurley

Arsenal are getting close to signing Barcelona’s Sergi Samper according to reports in Spain that are going mental over the prospect.

Samper, 20, has been on Arsene Wenger’s wishlist for some time now with the Arsenal boss reportedly trying to sign him on two occasions previously.

With a €12m buyout clause, the Catalans reluctance to sell the player who is seen by Wenger as being a possible Mikel Arteta replacement, will mean little should Wenger work his magic and convince yet another product of La Masia to ditch sunny Spain and head to north London.

If Samper is, as reported, frustrated at finding his chances for development with the first team limited when he was expecting to be more involved, Wenger could simply point to Hector Bellerin and how well the former Barcelona youngster has done since arriving at the club having just nailed down a five-year deal. There is, of course, also Cesc Fabregas who arrived at the club as a scrawny teenager and went on to become captain of the club.

It is claimed that on one of the prior occasions when the boss tried to sign Samper he was given a tour of the club’s facilities. With the Gunners said to be in the market for a defensive midfielder, could this be the route Wenger is trying to go down?

He certainly has form in this area, for sure.