Arsenal to 'make room' for PSG star after Andrea Berta transfer plea

Mikel Arteta has been urged to sign a player who could prove crucial to Arsenal's Champions League hopes this season.

Arsenal's surrender in the Premier League title race took another step towards its conclusion with their 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth, and the Gunners have now won just once in their last five matches.

That poor run of form extends back 10 league matches, in which Arteta's side have tasted victory on just three occasions, but Arsenal's silver lining of a potential first Champions League title is still up for grabs.

Arsenal may be 1-0 down on aggregate ahead of Wednesday's must-win second leg in Paris, but as they showcased in the quarter-finals against Real Madrid, the Gunners are capable of world-class moments.

Arsenal urged to pursue £17m Lee Kang-In transfer

Arteta and his squad won't underestimate the size of the task ahead of them at the Parc des Princes, but Andrea Berta will also have his eye on one of the hosts' players ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Sun reported on 6 May that Berta is still interested in PSG's Lee Kang-In and wants Arteta to "make room" for him in the squad, after Arsenal's new sporting director failed to sign the South Korean in his time at Atletico Madrid.

Lee has become a fringe player in Luis Enrique's squad, but PSG don't want to cut their losses on the 24-year-old entirely and are keen to recoup the £18.7million they paid Mallorca for him two years ago.

PSG won't listen to offers below £17m for Lee this summer, but after Newcastle saw a £58m rejected 12 months ago, Berta and Arteta will see the versatile midfielder's new price tag as an absolute bargain.

Andrea Berta to play key role in Arsenal transfer plans

Berta's arrival at the Emirates in March is yet to bring about any structural changes, but with the transfer window on the horizon, he's already made plans to sign a "marquee striker" as Arsenal's first addition.

Sporting CP centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres is right at the top of Berta's shortlist, and if Arsenal can add Lee to Arteta's options in attack, the Spaniard will have a formidable frontline at his disposal next term.

The exits of Nuno Tavares and Raheem Sterling are also expected to be confirmed at season's end, and as Berta trims the quantity of the Gunners' squad, its level of quality is only likely to increase.