Arsenal close to poaching Barcelona strike starlet Sanabria?

Toni Sanabria may not be the most familiar name when it comes to football, but it is the name of an upcoming talent in Barcelona, supposedly the next big thing to come out of Barcelona’s La Masia academy. So it would only seem right that Arsenal were linked with this young gem and that’s exactly what has happened with several media outlets in Spain, as well as a few in England having already reported that contact has been made regarding a possible move to the Emirates.

Toni Sanabria is a striker who currently plays for FC Barcelona’s second team, Barcelona B in the Spanish second division. The 17 year old Paraguayan has been hitting the heights in Liga Adelante and as a result has attracted the attention of a few Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. So far, Arsenal seems to be leading the race purely because according to the reports so far this season, the Gunners are the only team to have made official contact with both Barcelona and the player’s representative. However I cannot help but also think that the media are also basing this upon the fact that it wouldn’t be the first time a transfer between Arsenal and Barcelona has happened.

The Spanish champions are quite well known for poaching Arsenal’s players, including the likes of Arsenal legends Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas, as well as Van Bronkhurst, Alex Song and Alexandre Hleb. But of course Arsenal have their own little say in the transfer dealings because on numerous occasions we have stolen a Barcelona prodigy right under their own noses. Fabregas himself was a Barcelona product, as well as Fran Merida and Ignaci Miquel. The latest pairing to make the move from sunny Spain, to the cold and wet of England are Spanish pairing Hector Bellerin and Jon Toral.

I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if this was a move that happened in the future because with just a supposed 3 million euro buy-out clause, I cannot see Arsene Wenger passing up the opportunity. He will surely fit in nicely alongside our growing set of young talent, but with Barcelona well aware of how good Sanabria is, I am sure they won’t give him up without a fight.