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Barcelona midfielder confirms approach from Arsenal

By on January 18, 2017

Barcelona starlet Sergi Samper has confirmed that he rejected a move to Arsenal last summer after telling Arsene Wenger he had no interest in leaving the Nou Camp, according to Sky Sports News.

Samper has been with Barcelona his entire career having joined the club’s youth system at just six-years-old and has been a regular with the Catalan giants B team since 2013.

The 21-year-old was granted permission to leave the Nou Camp on loan last summer by boss Luis Enrique as the likes of Sergi Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic and Andre Gomes were all ahead of him in the pecking order.

Arsenal have been strongly linked with the Spanish under-21 international for several years and it appears we made a formal move for his signature last summer before he completed a season-long loan switch to Granada.

However, Samper has been quoted by Sky Sports News as saying that he made it clear to Wenger that he didn’t want to join Arsenal as he saw his long-term future with Barcelona.

“I did not want to listen to [Arsene] Wenger. I told him clearly that I wanted to stay, I wanted to succeed at Barcelona, and what would make me happy was succeeding at Barcelona in the future.”

Samper has huge potential and I’d have loved for him to join Arsenal but fair play to the midfielder, he’s Barca through-and-through and is willing to wait to try and make it at his boyhood club.

He’s currently gaining vital experience during his loan spell at Granada but we’ll have to wait and see whether he does enough to force his way in to Enrique’s plans for next season. Maybe we’ll renew our interest again in the future if he still struggles to make it at Barca….