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Arsenal working on January transfer bid for Barcelona contract rebel

Arsenal have been keeping close tabs on Ronald Araujo’s delicate contract situation at Barcelona and are preparing an audacious bid to sign the defender this January.

Araujo is enjoying his fifth full season in Barcelona’s first-team having joined the Catalan giants from Uruguayan outfit Boston River back in 2018.

In that time, Araujo has racked up over 150 appearances in all competitions for Barca, helping the club win the 2022/23 La Liga title, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.

Araujo returned from a serious hamstring injury last weekend to make his first appearance of the season in Barca’s trip to Barbastro, playing the full 90 minutes in a resounding 4-0 victory.

But uncertainty has been growing over Araujo’s standing at the Camp Nou, with the Uruguay international facing strong competition for his place at the heart of Hansi Flick’s defence

Flick has landed on a settled centre-back partnership in Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez and Araujo senses that it could be difficult to force his way back into the reckoning.

He is also aware that Barca are actively looking strengthen their options at centre-half over the coming transfer windows, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah a top target.