"Arsenal are certainly one of the teams interested in him" - Journalist claims Gunners are interested in potential move for 29-year-old PL star

Arsenal are one of the clubs reportedly interested in Manchester City fullback Joao Cancelo. The Portugal international will return to the Etihad upon the expiry of his loan deal with Bayern Munich on June 30.

According to journalist Rudy Galetti, Arsenal are thinking of making a move for Cancelo but are not alone in his pursuit. The Gunners will also wait for their Declan Rice pursuit to reach its conclusion before focussing on other targets.

Talking to GIVEMESPORT, Galetti said:

"Arsenal are certainly one of the teams interested in him, it's confirmed. But at the moment the Gunners are fully focused on the deal of Declan Rice, and only after having managed the midfielder issue will they eventually focus on the Portuguese player."

Joao Cancelo moved to Bayern Munich on a short loan in the 2023 January window but is now set to return to the Etihad. The German giants are reportedly not interested in signing him permanently and there is little clarity over whether he will be reinstated into the City XI that won the continental treble without him.

At Arsenal, he would probably occupy the right-back spot over Ben White and play the inverted full-back role that he excelled in at Manchester City as well.

However, the Portuguese's wages could be an issue, as he reportedly earns £250,000 per week at City. As per Sportac, only Gabriel Jesus earns more at the north London club (£265,000 per week).

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Pep Guardiola explains Cancelo's loan exit and addresses player's future

Pep Guardiola recently talked about Joao Cancelo's loan move to Bayern Munich and said that they were even ready to let him join Manchester United as he was no longer needed at City.

Speaking to Spanish media, Guardiola said (via Euro ES Euro):

"I think they have informed him very badly. He is far from reality. The reality was that we decided that he had to leave. We didn't care where he was going, even if he wanted to go to United, which is our rival. There is his agent and the clubs they agree. I won't say that they deceived him but that they misinformed him."

When asked about Cancelo's future at Manchester City, Guardiola added:

"This is a matter of Txiki [Begiristain, Sporting Director], of City, of his representative and of the club that loves him. I have no idea [why he didn't sign for Barcelona]. We didn't get any offers."

Cancelo joined the Cityzens in 2019 from Juventus and went on to make 154 appearances for the club, scoring nine and assisting 22 goals in the process.