Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong admitted a few years ago that he’s long dreamed of joining Arsenal.
The Netherlands international is being strongly linked with Manchester United at the moment, but it seems he’s previously had a big admiration for the way Arsenal play football.
De Jong described the Gunners as “beautiful” and admitted he once expected he might follow a similar career path to that of Marc Overmars, who went from Ajax, to Arsenal, and later to Barca.
“I actually thought Arsenal was pretty beautiful in the past,” he told Voetbal International in 2019.
“In my mind I have had the following list for a long time: Ajax-Arsenal-Barcelona, ??call it the Marc Overmars route.
“But yes, if you can go directly to Barcelona, then you are also right where you want to be. Faster than you ever dared to dream.”
It will be interesting to see if De Jong ends up moving this summer and if Arsenal can be in the frame.