Arsenal target Emi Buendia drops future hint as talks escalate

Arsenal are hot on the tail of Emi Buendia this summer as Mikel Arteta looks to reshape his squad for a European push next season, with the Argentine playing his part in stirring up talk by insisting he dreams of ‘the highest level’.

All professional footballers do, don’t they? If you’re in League One and Championship side comes calling, you’re not going to turn it down. In that sense, there is nothing majorly new, but the timing of them is crucial.

This is now three seasons at Carrow Road for the 24-year-old who is in the form of his life. Having stayed in Norfolk last summer to help the Canaries head straight back up to the Premier League as second division champions, it’s accepted that he can depart with his mission ‘completed’, in a way.

15 goals and 16 assists (as well as two red cards) saw him given the Championship Player of the Season award, finishing the campaign with the most combined goal contributions. Speaking to AS, he said he’s ready for the next step.

Arsenal target Emi Buendia drops future hint with Gunners bid imminent as talks gather momentum

"“One always dreams of being at the highest level and in the best teams in England, Spain or Europe,” he said. “One dreams of playing for titles, it is an ambition that I have, it is a pride that important clubs are interested in you, it means that you are doing things well and it is a motivation to continue working and one day achieve it. “Since I was a child, I was passionate about soccer and you grow up with players you watch. Not only in the position that I would like to play, as I still do today."

Discussing his favoured position, he insisted the ‘Odegaard role’, to put it in Arsenal terms, is his favourite.

"“My position was always ‘10’, the hook, between the middle and the forward,” he added. “I was always a passer, but in a professional way I played more outside and always with the freedom to be able to associate. “But where I feel most comfortable is in the middle, where I can touch the ball more and associate with my team-mates.”"

Those prepared for a drawn out summer saga may be in luck. Buendia’s comments come in the close season with heightened interest in his signature, as the speculation mounts that a bid from Arsenal is inevitable.

The Daily Mail report that the Gunners have opened talks with the forward as they look to fend off Aston Villa and another unnamed European side, and a new man at Arsenal is desperate to push through with a deal

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