After weeks of intense speculation, Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Barcelona midfielder, Denis Suarez on loan until the end of the 2018/2019 season. The La Liga champions had extended the 25-year-old’s contract until June 2021, although the Gunners have a purchase option in the summer. Spaniard Suarez has played 71 times for Barcelona since joining in 2013 but has only featured eight times this season. He previously played under the current Arsenal manager, Unai Emery at Sevilla. He was also at Sevilla on loan.
Recall that Suarez spent two seasons at Manchester City as a teenager but only made two first-team appearances before being sold to Barcelona as a 19-year-old. The Gunners remain in negotiations to sign a wide player – Inter Milan’s Croatia international Ivan Perisic is among the options being pursued, with Belgium winger Yannick Carrasco of Chinese club Dalian Yifang also linked.
Despite a number of injuries, Arsenal are not likely to bolster their defence. Captain Laurent Koscielny could be in contention to return in time for Sunday’s trip to Manchester City, while Sokratis Papastathopoulos – who like Koscielny was forced off during the FA Cup defeat by Manchester United on Friday is also not expected to be out for long.
