Arsenal could reportedly soon get the opportunity to swoop in for Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan despite him saying yes to a move to Barcelona.
The 32-year-old is about to become a free agent, so it could be that he’ll be on his way out of Man City in the coming days, and Mundo Deportivo recently linked him as someone Arsenal were pushing hard to sign.
However, according to Relevo journalist Toni Juanmarti in the tweet below, Gundogan has set a deadline of ten days for Barca to register him and complete the deal, which is seemingly not guaranteed, and could lead to him pursuing other options…
Gündogan:
Ha dicho SÍ a querer firmar por el Barça… pero calma.
El club trabaja a contracorriente para poder inscribirle lo antes posible. Si no se logra en X días, como es lógico, Ilkay quiere tener la libertad de emprender otra dirección.
La pelota, en el tejado del Barça.
— Toni Juanmartí (@tjuanmarti) June 21, 2023
This looks like one that could go down to the wire, so it will be interesting to see if the Gunners end up getting a new opportunity to snap up this quality free agent.
Gundogan ended the season in superb form for City, playing a key role in Pep Guardiola’s side’s treble victory, including with a match-winning brace against Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
With Granit Xhaka heading to Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal could certainly do well to sign Gundogan as a replacement, though Barcelona will also hope to strengthen in that area of the pitch after the departure of Sergio Busquets.