New Arsenal boss Unai Emery will be looking to stamp his mark on the squad this summer, and that in turn has led to speculation over potential transfer targets.
The Spaniard will inherit a talented squad from Arsene Wenger, but one that has underachieved in the last two seasons as they’ve slipped out of the top four in the Premier League.
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In turn, along with offering a fresh perspective, he’ll hope to strengthen the group with players that fit the mould in terms of what he demands from his team, and that has led to The Daily Mail including a potential loan move for Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele as part of the recruitment drive.
The 21-year-old struggled in his first campaign with the Catalan giants, as he was limited to just 23 appearances due to injury and that in turn adversely affected his ability to settle and adapt to the Barcelona style of play.
With that in mind, an opportunity to play regularly next season under a coach like Emery who will demand a similar technical style of football, could perhaps be ideal for Dembele to rediscover his confidence and best form, while Barcelona will hope that he returns a stronger player for the experience.
It would risk leaving them light in that department though, with the emphasis likely to be even more so on the shoulders of the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
From Arsenal’s perspective, given they’ve already got Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in that department, it seems like the last place to begin signing reinforcements for.
Particularly considering that their issues were at the other end of the pitch, conceding 51 goals in 38 league games to give them the worst defensive record of the top seven sides, it remains to be seen if Dembele emerges as a priority this summer, or even a target at all.