Barcelona are ready to offload forward Alexis Sanchez in the summer, as Tito Vilanova looks to revamp his forward line, with David Villa also expected to be a casualty.
Sanchez has been one of the disappointments of a stellar season so far for Barca, with Vilanova preferring the likes of Pedro and Villa ahead of the Chilean international.
Barca paid a huge amount to get Sanchez from Italian side Udinese in 2011, but the move has not quite worked out as either the player or the club would have liked, and Barcelona are ready to let the player leave, according to Spanish site Fichajes.net.
The staggering fee was around €26 million (£22.2 million, $34.7 million), plus €11 million (£9.3 million, $17.2 million) in bonuses, and Sanchez, certainly has not lived up to that amount, only scoring his first La Liga goal of the season in the weekend win over Getafe.
However, when you are not playing as many games as you would like, it is difficult to make an impact, particularly when the pressure of such a high fee is also on your back.
Barcelona are flush with attackers, and if as expected they strengthen their forward line at the end of the season, then Sanchez will definitely be better served by finding a new club.
Liverpool have been linked with the player before, and Brendan Rodgers reportedly looked at the possibility of a loan move until the end of the season in the January transfer window.
Arsenal have also been linked, as they always are when it comes to players who are remotely available, with Sanchez's teammate Villa a prime target of Arsene Wenger in January.
Villa, though is 31, and Wenger is reportedly reconsidering going in for the Spain international in the summer. So, would it make more sense if Arsenal were to look to sign Sanchez over Villa?
Sanchez definitely has the capabilities of playing for Arsenal, and would fit right in across the frontline. The Chilean is also only 24, which is the perfect age for Wenger to spend some money.
Villa would probably make a greater immediate impact and there is absolutely no doubt that the great Spaniard would add that little extra to the Arsenal side.
However, with Sanchez's peak years still ahead of him, there is a case for going for him rather than Villa - although that would again be similar to Arsenal's frustrating formula of buying young talent but neglecting to bring in experience.
There were widespread reports of Wenger ditching the plans to bring in Villa in the summer and instead focusing on Steven Jovetic of Fiorentina. If that indeed turns out to be true, going for someone like Sanchez, if the Jovetic move does not pan out, might not be such a bad idea.
But as always with Arsenal, only time will tell. One thing is for sure though, going for either of the three will only make the side better and more primed for a title tilt.
