Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has reportedly given his seal of approval for the Gunners to make a move for 18-year-old Barcelona sensation Arnau Pradas.
Another talented product to come out of the La Masia ranks, Pradas is yet to make his senior debut for Barcelona, but the 2006-born attacker has been making a serious impression at youth level.
Primarily a left winger but also comfortable on the right flank, Pradas has scored twice in two UEFA Youth League games in the 2024-25 season, netting against Monaco and BSC Young Boys.
A seven-cap Spain Under-16 international, Pradas has also been called up to his country's Under-17 and Under-19 ranks, but Barcelona risk losing him for nothing when his contract expires in 2025.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Arsenal have shown a serious interest in poaching the 18-year-old from the Barcelona academy, and Arteta has personally expressed his desire to bring him in.
Barcelona to block Arsenal move for Pradas?
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A former member of the La Masia ranks himself, Arteta is leading a youthful recruitment drive after seeing several teenage talents leave over the summer, including Chido Obi Martin, Amario Cozier-Duberry and Reuell Walters.
The Gunners are therefore keeping a close eye on Pradas's situation in Barcelona should he become available on a free transfer, but the 18-year-old is regarded as a 'gem' within the Catalonia ranks.
Pradas was a former attacking partner of Lamine Yamal during their time in the academy together, but while the latter is now starring for the first team, Pradas is still yet to force his way into Hansi Flick's ranks.
The report claims that the 18-year-old's development stalled slightly, but he is now firing on all cylinders again, and Barcelona are expected to try to tie him down to a new deal to ward off interest from the Gunners.
Barcelona have not been shy to blood young talent into the first team in recent seasons, also offering the likes of Marc Casado, Hector Fort, Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal regular game time after the emergence of Pedri and Gavi.
Pradas to follow Fabregas path to Arsenal?
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With Barcelona still constrained in the transfer market and always looking to their academy ranks, Pradas could feel optimistic about his chances of becoming a first-team regular should he keep performing in the same vein.
However, the 18-year-old could instead tread the same path that Cesc Fabregas took, as the former Spain international memorably left Barcelona as a teenager in 2003 to sign for the Gunners, where he became a household name.
For over two decades, Fabregas was the youngest player to start a competitive game for Arsenal, a record only recently broken by 16-year-old Jack Porter against Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup.
The bar for youth talent to break into the Arsenal first team has certainly been raised a lot higher in recent seasons, but as Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are now regular presences in senior squads, Pradas will get opportunities if he impresses Arteta enough.
Ben Knapton
