Nou Camp forward edges closer to Emirates Stadium move.
Arsenal are closing in on a deal to sign Barcelona striker David Villa this summer having put in the ground work on a move for the experienced Spanish international in the January transfer window.
Arsene Wenger had initially hoped to bring in the former Valencia man to the Emirates Stadium in January but Villa had opted to fight for a regular berth in Tito Vilanova’s first team set-up but has continued to find himself out of the Barcelona manager’s starting eleven and is now ready to leave the Nou Camp.
Villa has been handed just 14 La Liga starts thus far this season but has still managed to net nine goals whilst the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Pedro have tended to get the nod ahead of the 31 year old marksman.
Though Wenger is not known for his purchasing of players over the age of 30 he is open to doing so for a player of Villa’s undoubted quality, especially as he still sees Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski as very able attacking options that he is happy to persist with next term.
The Arsenal boss is hoping to beef up his attack and Villa may feel he has more chance securing much needed first team action at the Premier League side over remaining at Barcelona.
David Villa is the Spanish national team’s record goal-scorer and the striker is keen to retain a spot in Vicente del Bosque’s plans and as such needs to be playing regularly, this is of course all the more relevant given the 2014 World Cup finals are around the corner.
Villa has started just two of Spain’s last five World Cup qualifiers and knows that at his age he can afford to be wasting away on the bench and the allure of a new challenge in the English top tier appears to interest the Barcelona man.
Barcelona are reportedly ready to offload a number of their squad this summer with speculation rife that the likes of Victor Valdes, Alexis Sanchez and Alex Song linked with departures from the Catalan side.
Arsenal hope to convince Barcelona to accept a bid in the region of €15m (£12.5m) for David Villa, who has scored 47 goals in 115 appearances for the club.