Arsenal interested in Pablo Barrios while Andrea Berta also in "contact multiple times" over Alex Scott | OneFootball

Arsenal reportedly have an interest in the potential transfer of Atletico Madrid midfielder Pablo Barrios, though it looks like he won’t be available.

This has led the Gunners to explore other targets in midfield, with Andrea Berta said to have had multiple contacts over a possible deal for Bournemouth’s Alex Scott.

That’s according to a detailed report on X from reliable account Hand of Arsenal…

“As far as I am aware this is what has been going on,” the post reads. “Arsenal were interested in Fernandes / Tonali / Pablo Barrios (exclusive). When Tonali was offered to us at the end of January, it peaked everyone’s interest at the club. Berta kept in contact as did City. It became clear the deal was not feasible due to Newcastle wanting £85m or even more. To further add, the agent fees are incroyable. Barrios was not available for several reasons.”

On the interest in Scott, Hand of Arsenal added: “Berta then made contact multiple times to explore the situation of Alex Scott, the interest is real and there was a feeling a potential bargain could be secured around £65m. Bournemouth began to panic while Alex Scott was out in the USA with the England pre camp and want to rush to secure a renewal for Scott with a possible release clause. Their stance currently is he is not for sale at any price.”

Which midfielder will Arsenal sign?

Arsenal clearly have a few different targets on their agenda, with BBC Sport also reporting similar as they name targets such as Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, and Ayyoub Bouaddi.

It’s not obvious at this point which player the Gunners will decide to move for, and of course it’s still early in the window, so it might still be a while before they choose who to make their priority.

Barrios is a new name coming up, and it seems he’s not the most realistic choice, while it perhaps looks like Newcastle are going to be asking for too much for Tonali and Guimaraes.

There are perhaps early signs of Scott looking like the one Arsenal will go for, and that could make a lot of sense as he’s got that good blend of youth and experience, meaning he can be a strong investment to improve the team straight away but also for the long term.

Guimaraes in particular looks too old, though he remains a superb player who would surely contribute a lot to Arsenal, even if only for two or three years.

Barrios is only 23 and a similar profile to these, so it makes sense that AFC checked on him, even if it seems he won’t be available.