"Maybe he's thinking about Arsenal..." - Xavi Simons tipped to join the Gunners as agent connections revealed

Xavi Simons has been tipped to join Arsenal this summer.

While the Gunners have made huge strides under Mikel Arteta this term, Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton has all but guaranteed they will fall short in their ambition of claiming a first Premier League title in 19 years.

In turn, Arteta has been tipped to dip into the summer market, to provide his squad with sufficient depth to challenge in the Premier League and Champions League next term.

Indeed, Declan Rice is allegedly Arsenal’s priority, with the club set to open talks with West Ham over a £90million swoop for the player in the coming weeks.

However, the England international is not the only expected summer arrival at the Emirates. The north Londoners will reportedly look to offset their anticipated spend by selling several players - with Granit Xhaka among the players in line to depart.

And Arsenal have been tipped to make an ambitious move for Simmons should the funds become available.

Arsenal to sign Simons?

Speaking to Dutch publication Eindhovens Dagblad via Voetbal Zone, journalist Aad de Mos claimed Simons could be eyeing up a move to Arsenal, with his agent enjoying a good relationship with Mikel Arteta.

The 20-year-old has starred for PSV Eindhoven under Ruud van Nistelrooy this term, registering 16 goals and nine assists in 32 games in the league.

And only a year after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, SImons has been linked to several of Europe’s elite clubs.

De Mos said: “His change of manager indicates that he is searching.

“Maybe he is thinking about Arsenal. His new agents have a lot of contacts there. I hope Earnest Stewart (PSV’s technical director) can manage to keep Simons here in Eindhoven.

“That should be priority number one for PSV and so steps need to be taken quickly.”

Having joined PSV on a free transfer last summer, CIES Football Observatory now values the Netherlands international at €50million (£43million).