Exclusive: Arsenal leading chase for brilliant young Spanish talent with 6 G/A in 12 games this season

Mikel Arteta is slowly but surely leaning into his Spanish connection to help Arsenal in the transfer market, and one young Iberian talent could be the next player from the region to join the Gunners.

Though the North Londoners have been transformed under the Spaniard, they’ve yet to break the dominance of Man City in the Premier League title race, and Arteta has seen Arne Slot come in at Liverpool and immediately pose more of a threat to Pep Guardiola and his squad than Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta scouting young attacking talent for Arsenal

Therefore, continual reassessment of the playing staff is required, both for an immediate change as needed, and for the future.

Arteta has already told the club to sign an attacking talent as a “top priority,” and to that end, CaughtOffside sources are aware that Arsenal have been courting Malaga’s 18-year-old ace, Antonio Cordero.

As transfermarkt note, the youngster already has six goal or assist contributions in 12 games for his club this season, and with a market value of just €2m, even if Malaga want and expect more, Cordero is still likely to be available at a bargain price.

The North Londoners face stiff competition for the player’s signature, however.

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Sources have also advanced that Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and PSG have thrown their hats into the ring, whilst Premier League rivals Man City, Man United and Aston Villa are keeping a watching brief on developments.

Ultimately, the decision on where to go next will be left to the player, and as the January transfer window approaches, the competition for Cordero is likely to get fiercer.

There’s also a need for the Gunners to shore up their defence in the new year after their title hopes suffered a major setback because of an injury to a key man that will keep him out for the foreseeable future.