Arsenal tipped to beat Liverpool to £100m Bradley Barcola transfer after securing Bruno Guimaraes deal

Arsenal continue to bolster their squad this summer after officially unveiling Guimaraes following his £75m move from Newcastle United. The Brazilian midfielder becomes Arteta's third signing of the window, following winger Christos Tzolis and goalkeeper Illan Meslier. Having missed out on Vinicius Junior after he opted to extend his contract at Real Madrid, and following the sale of Leandro Trossard to Besiktas, the Gunners have now set their sights on PSG's Barcola to reinforce their frontline options.

Arsenal's rivals Liverpool have also made Barcola their primary target this summer with a £100m bid, although PSG are holding out for a fee closer to £150m for the two-time Champions League winner.

Speaking in an interview with talkSPORT, former Arsenal forward Perry Groves insisted the Gunners hold greater appeal than a Liverpool side undergoing a period of transition under Andoni Iraola. He said: "I've got no dog in the fight, but I would say the Gooners because Liverpool are a team that are in transition.

"Andoni Iraola going in there, imposing his own philosophy, his own style with all the new signings coming in. If you were Barcola and you thought, what out of those two sides have got the most chance of winning the Premier League or Champions League, at the moment you’d say it was Arsenal.

"So it’s whether Arsenal want to go in, if they go in for him, then there would have been advances being made to his people. Because they don’t want to be seen losing out on Vinicius Junior being played like a little kitten with a ball of wool, but Arsenal have to be in for those sorts of players. That’s the level Arsenal are at now."

Groves added further claims regarding the player's preferred living destination during the same broadcast: "I’ve got a source that says he [Barcola] wants to live in London. I can’t tell you [who], I can’t divulge my sources. I’ve got a source. I’ve got a mole. Barcola wants to live in London."

Backing for a move to secure Barcola's services has also come from former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong, who believes the club must continue adding quality to sustain their dominance after clinching the Premier League title last season.

Speaking to Ladbrokes, Frimpong stressed the importance of building a sustained era of success in North London: "Mikel [Arteta] and the boys have finally got it over the line, which I’m very happy about. But they shouldn’t just win it once and be satisfied with that. They have to keep on winning it now and dominate just like how Man United and Man City have in the past.

"We’ve got the players, we’ve got a deep squad and hopefully this summer, the board are going to strengthen further, because I still think we need a couple of wingers and a proper number eight. I feel like Declan Rice is playing in a position which isn’t natural to him, so we need a proper number eight alongside him.

"For me, when it comes to realistic signings this summer, with those positions in mind, I feel like Bruno Guimaraes is someone I'd love to see at Arsenal. And also Bradley Barcola… I think he would be very good for Arsenal. Barcola and Bruno Guimaraes would be a very good transfer window for Arsenal."

Arsenal now prepare for intense competition during the remainder of the transfer window as negotiations for a new winger rumble on. Club hierarchy are under pressure to act swiftly to finalise their core squad before the opening weekend of the Premier League season gets underway.

Barcola's final decision regarding his future at PSG will serve as the crucial catalyst determining the outcome of the transfer battle between Arsenal and Liverpool.