ARSENAL: GUNNERS HAVE MADE OFFER TO SIGN "INCREDIBLE" STAR

Wolves star Ruben Neves and his agent Jorge Mendes had an offer to join Arsenal, but he's instead opted to sign for La Liga giants Barcelona, according to reports.

Who could Arsenal sign this summer?

After missing out on their first Premier League title in nearly 20 years last season, being pipped by imperious treble-chasing champions Man City, it is back to the drawing board for Mikel Arteta.

There were huge positives to take from the 2022/2023 campaign, namely their credible challenge after missing out on Champions League qualification the season before to Tottenham.

The north Londoners were in pole position for a long time but ultimately fell short, with Arsenal and sporting director Edu now looking to shore up key areas of the squad in preparation for 23/24.

Midfield reinforcements are on the agenda and reports suggest they could make multiple signings in the middle of the park, leading to serious links with West Ham star Declan Rice and Brighton's Moises Caicedo among others.

Man City captain Ilkay Gundogan and Southampton's Romeo Lavia have also been mentioned, while Arsenal could also look to strengthen at centre-back.

Neves, who is out of contract at Molineux in 2024, is a name Arteta and co are believed to hold an interest in, but according to a report by Sport, they appear resigned to missing out on him.

As per their information, the Portugal international is set to join Spanish champions Barcelona instead. Neves and his representative Mendes "had offers" from Arsenal and Man United "on the table", but it appears he has rejected those advances in favour of a move to the Camp Nou.

The 26-year-old was apparently determined not to miss out on joining Barca, despite Arteta being a big fan, and he has already agreed a four-year contract. Neves will sign for Xavi as a direct replacement for Sergio Busquets, who will leave on a Bosman at the end of this month.

Who is Ruben Neves?

The former FC Porto star has been a key player for Wolves since his move to England, especially last season under Julen Lopetegui.

According to WhoScored, Neves ranked as their best-performing regular with over three league starts - scoring their joint-highest number of goals and attempting more shots at goal per 90 than any Wolves player.

Young Wolves defender Hugo Bueno, via the Shropshire Star, heaped praise on the midfielder's contributions early last season.

"He always runs the whole pitch and he’s always there," said Bueno."I don’t know how he does it. He is a key player for us. He works very, very hard to win the ball back and also when we have the ball he can control in the game.“He is an incredible player and hopefully he can give us more things like this in the future.”

2023-06-06T10:27:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd