Reports: Barcelona, Arsenal and PSG to fight it out for £40m Ligue 1 midfielder

What's the story?

A recent improvement in form has seen Arsenal regain fourth place in the Premier League table and the Gunners are now 12 points off the top of the table. Manchester City have been on a rampaging run this season and Arsenal will need to build on their wins against Burnley and Tottenham if they have any chance of challenging for the title.

Arsene Wenger seems to have identified key reinforcements that can be made in January and according to reports from the Mirror, Arsenal will be targeting Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri. However. they will face stiff competition for the Ivorian's signature, with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona also interested.

In case you didn't know...

Nice finished third in Ligue 1 in the 2016-17 season, with Jean Michael Seri receiving praise for his performances. The midfielder was heavily linked with a £36m move to Barcelona in the last weeks of the summer transfer season.

Unfortunately, the deal failed to go through and Seri publicly lambasted Nice officials for blocking the move. Nice president Jean-Pierre Riviere refuted the allegations and clarified that Barcelona had backed out at the last minute.

The heart of the matter

Jean Michael Seri has stated that he would like to move to Paris Saint-Germain in the future, saying that he admires the club's philosophy. Seri was also linked to Les Parisien in the summer, but a deal did not materialize by transfer deadline day. PSG are currently on the verge of a mass exodus with the departures of several fringe players seemingly imminent.

With Wilshere out of a contract and Santi Cazorla's future unclear, Arsenal are currently in need of a good central midfielder who can turn defence into attack. Seri contributes defensively to Nice, but he also has a few tricks up his sleeve and can create goals, providing 10 assists in the league last season.

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Author's Take

Arsenal will need to act quickly to secure the services of the Ivorian and a release clause of £36 million will do little to deter them. Paris Saint-Germain do seem to be in a better position to sign the player and if they can finish off the sales of some fringe players quickly, they could provide Seri with a better offer than Arsenal. Barcelona is still a wildcard in this situation and the Spanish club is also monitoring Seri.