Arsenal could face competition from Barcelona for Thomas Lemar, according to reports.

Speculation about the Monaco midfielder continues with Arsenal, Liverpool and now Barcelona all linked.

According to the Telegraph, Barcelona are preparing to rival Arsenal for Lemar. However, that’s all the report says about their interest.

If Barcelona did get involved, Arsenal would have a tough time convincing the player to join them and not go to Spain.

However, it’s difficult to say that they have genuine interest without knowing which areas of their squad they’re looking to strengthen and why.

Arsenal’s future need for fresh attacking talent is well-documented. At this point, there’s little chance of Alexis Sanchez extending his contract, while uncertainty surrounding Mesut Ozil’s situation remains.

Lemar was a target during the summer transfer window, where Arsenal seemingly tried to sign him for weeks.

It wasn’t until deadline day that a bid of over £90m was accepted by Monaco.

Depending on who you believe, Arsenal either didn’t have enough time to complete the deal or failed to convince Lemar to join them.

Arsenal are expected to try again in January when the window re-opens, but could face more competition than they did last time.