Arsenal must reportedly do battle with six other clubs to secure the signature of Gabriel Jesus in the summer transfer window.
The 25-year-old has failed to nail down a regular starting place at Manchester City but has hit a rich vein of form in the final few weeks of the 2021-22 season.
Jesus has struck six goals in his last six Premier League games for the Citizens, who will be confirmed as champions if Liverpool suffer defeat to Southampton on Tuesday night.
The Brazil international has only started 20 top-flight games this season, though, and the arrival of Erling Braut Haaland will push him further down the pecking order.
Furthermore, Jesus now has less than 18 months left to run on his contract with Pep Guardiola's side, leading to intense speculation surrounding a summer exit.
Arsenal have been strongly linked with a swoop for the South American, but reports of a £42m deal already being agreed are now thought to be wide of the mark.
The Gunners are not alone in their pursuit, however, as Calcio Mercato claims that AC Milan, Juventus and Newcastle United are also in the hunt for his services.
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are also rumoured to be keeping a close eye on the situation, with the Rojiblancos set to lose Luis Suarez while Bayern attacker Robert Lewandowski will not be penning a new deal with the club.
Arsenal are still thought to be at the head of the queue for Jesus, but failure to qualify for the Champions League would harm their bid to sign the Brazilian attacker.
With Jesus also seeking to ensure that he makes the Brazil squad for the 2022 World Cup, his representatives are said to have already been in touch with Milan and Juve over a switch to Italy.
The former Palmeiras youngster has totalled 13 goals and 12 assists in 40 outings for Man City this season, scoring eight times and setting up nine more in 27 Premier League appearances.
Jesus's exploits this season have helped take his total for the club to 95 goals and 46 assists in 235 matches since arriving in 2017, winning three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and four EFL Cups in that time.
Arsenal are set to lose both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah on free transfers this summer, while they failed to sign a replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January.
Mikel Arteta's side are now out of the driving seat for a top-four finish after a 2-0 loss to Newcastle United on Monday night, meaning that they must overcome Everton and hope Norwich City can pull off a shock result against Tottenham Hotspur on the final day.
Arteta admitted that his side's performance at St James' Park was "nowhere near" Champions League level, while Granit Xhaka labelled the showing a "disaster" and hit out at his side's lack of "balls" on the night. body check tags ::
