Arsenal ‘join Barcelona in transfer race for Man City outcast’ after losing Jurrien Timber to injury

ARSENAL have reportedly joined Barcelona in the race to sign Manchester City outcast Joao Cancelo.

Posted Saturday, August 19, 2023 by Thesun.co.uk

The Gunners are believed to be looking for a new defender following the devastating ACL injury to summer signing Jurrien Timber.

Jurrien Timber is set to miss much of the season with an ACL injury

Arsenal have since been linked with Joao Cancelo

He is not in Pep Guardiola's plans at Man City

The former Ajax man was forced off on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest with an injury.

And in the week, Arsenal confirmed that Timber, 22, had sustained damage to his ACL, which could keep him out for much of the season.

After the injury to Timber, 90min have reported that Arsenal are now considering a move for Cancelo.

The Portuguese international had been linked with the Gunners earlier in the summer but after Timber's arrival talk of a switch cooled.

Cancelo, 29, has since been wanted by Barcelona, but the move's financials are proving difficult for the LaLiga giants.

The report claims that the Catalonians have agreed personal terms with the defender but are yet to seal a deal with City.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has also claimed a move to the Nou Camp is just a "matter of time".

Cancelo starred for the Citizens up to the midpoint of last season when he left the club on loan to Bayern Munich.

After the loan ended, the Bundesliga champions turned down the opportunity to sign Cancelo on a permanent deal.

And it appears he is no longer in the plans of manager Pep Guardiola as he was not been named in the squad for the club's Premier League win over Burnley or the Super Cup victory against Sevilla.

Despite the links to Cancelo, manager Mikel Arteta is looking at replacing Timber from "within the team".

He said: "I am more thinking about the resources that we have within the team to keep doing what we want to do.

"It's true that he was giving us very different things in terms of what we could do on both sides, but again, these things happen, and we have to be prepared for that."