Transfer: Arsenal set Matteo Guendouzi transfer fee as PSG join Barcelona in race for midfielder

Arsenal will demand Barcelona pay £40million for Matteo Guendouzi – with Paris-Saint Germain having reportedly entered the race for the midfielder.

Guendouzi looks set to leave the Emirates this summer, having fallen out of favour since clashing with Brighton players during the Gunners’ defeat in June.

The French midfielder has attracted interest from Barcelona, and is one of several players Arsenal will look to sell to help fund Mikel Arteta’s squad overhaul this summer.

The club’s £40m price tag for Guendouzi would represent a serious profit on the £5m they paid Lorient two years ago – and would help Arteta in his efforts to sign Willian, Thomas Partey, Gabriel Magalhaes and Dani Ceballos.

And Arsenal’s chances of attaining such a fee appear to have been boosted with PSG keen on the 21-year-old, according to Football London.

The publication reports that the Ligue 1 champions have been monitoring Guendouzi’s progress since he left their youth ranks to join Lorient in 2014.

And the super-rich French side are reportedly ready to join Barcelona in battle for the midfielder’s services.

As many as seven players could leave Arsenal this month, with Guendouzi joined on the proverbial chopping block by Mesut Ozil, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Sead Kolasinac and Lucas Torreira.

It is hoped that by moving some of these players on the Gunners will have the funds to tie Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang down to a new deal and snap up Willian on a free transfer.

The cash raised will also help Arteta sign Lille centre-half Gabriel and Atletico Madrid midfielder Partey, as well as Real Madrid outcast Ceballos, who spent the season on loan at the Emirates and has impressed since football’s restart in June.

Arsenal are believed to have offered Guendouzi to Atletico as part of a swap deal for Partey, but the La Liga club are insistent that the midfielder’s £45m release club must be met in full and in cash.