Arsenal 'best positioned' for wonderkid who dreams of Barcelona

Tom Hancock

• Updated: 30 Mar 2023 12:52 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal are leading the race to sign 18-year-old Brazilian sensation Vitor Roque, who is said to dream of playing for Barcelona.

The Athletico Paranaense forward made his senior international debut last week, coming off the bench midway through the second half as an experimental Brazil side lost 2-1 to Morocco in a friendly.

A prodigious prospect, Roque has piqued the interest of a number of top European clubs – among them Arsenal’s Premier League and London rivals Chelsea.

READ: Arsenal move for ‘extraordinary’ Barcelona player

According to Mundo Deportivo, though, it’s the Gunners who are ‘best positioned’ to secure Roque’s services, with Barcelona’s pursuit reportedly stalling and Chelsea potentially needing to tighten their belts after splashing out more than €600m during the winter transfer window.

Arsenal have recent history of snapping up promising talent from the Brazilian top flight too, having signed another attacker, Marquinhos, for €3.5m from Sao Paulo in January – before loaning him out to Championship Norwich City on deadline day.

With Champions League football all but secured for 2023/24, the Premier League leaders are bound to be thinking about how to increase their strength in depth – and Roque looks like an exciting potential acquisition.

READ: ‘Only Messi is better than Saka right now,’ claims Arsenal legend

Proving his worth

Roque has scored 10 goals and assisted a further three in 40 appearances for Athletico Paranaense since completing a €4.7m move from fellow Brazilian club Cruzeiro in April last year.

Given his trajectory, though, it’s fair to say that Arsenal will likely have to pay substantially more than that to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners’ Brazilian contingent grew to three last summer when they signed Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City, with the strike joining namesakes Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli.