Arsenal Transfer News: Pedro Doubts Barcelona Future, Stephan El Shaarawy Rumour

Barcelona winger Pedro has opened up about his potential exit from the club, with the reported Arsenal target admitting he may have to look elsewhere because of the “difficult situation” he finds himself in.

The Spaniard has been shunted down the pecking order with the Blaugrana this season after the summer signing of Luis Suarez, finding first-team opportunities and form difficult to come by. Speaking with Al Primer Toque (h/t ESPN FC), the winger admitted he doesn’t feel an important player any more at the Camp Nou:

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When you do not have playing time, of course you do not feel one of the important players.

Playing few games, not many minutes, it is normal that there can be talk of leaving, that is logical. It is the same for all players, everyone wants to play. When you do not play in important games, then it is a difficult situation.

There is a lot of talk at the moment, I am relaxed although it is a difficult situation. The most important thing is to remain calm and finish the season well. I hope I can help the team. From there we will weigh things up and see what can be done. There is no decision made yet -- at the moment I am with the club and just focusing on finishing the season well.

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As noted by the aforementioned piece, both the Gunners and Liverpool have been long linked with a move for the Spanish international, who earned his 50th cap for La Roja during their recent friendly defeat to the Netherlands. But it seems he may need to move away from Catalonia if he’s to continue getting minutes for the star-studded national team.

For Arsenal, there would be an obvious attraction to the player. After all, having signed Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona last summer, they’ve reaped major benefits of a forward deemed not quite good enough for the Catalonian giants.

It's signings of this kind of calibre that'll push the Gunners towards potential Premier League glory; Bleacher Report's Arsenal correspondent James McNicholas took a look at what else they need to do: 

However, when it comes to Pedro, Arsenal already have a surfeit of options in this area of the pitch and if the Spaniard was to sign, his presence would merely convolute further a facet of the squad that’s already bursting at the seams.

As Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe noted recently, Pedro looks a shadow of the player he once was, too:

Given regular playing time and a manager willing to place faith in the 27-year-old, Pedro could potentially capture his sparkle once again. But for Arsenal, his purchase would be a rapacious one and with other areas of the squad in need of more pertinent addressing, he's a transfer target they should forget about for the time being.

Gunners to go Back for Stephan El Shaarawy

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According to The Telegraph, the Gunners looked at bringing in Milan star Stephan El Shaarawy during the midseason window and while they were unsuccessful in their attempts, it’s claimed they may go back for the Italian international this summer.

As noted in the aforementioned piece, the player’s agent, Manuel El Shaarawy, also confirmed to MilanNews there has been interest in the winger from abroad:

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I’ve had some requests from abroad, even in January. But Stephan is at home with Milan and doesn’t feel the need to leave.

He has a good relationship with the fans, the club and his teammates.

We’ll see what happens in the summer though, it depends on whether the coach [Inzaghi] will stay, if there will be changes at boardroom level and especially what the club plans to do on the transfer market.

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It’s been another frustrating season for El Shaarawy, having made just 12 starts in Serie A and scoring one goal, per WhoScored.com.

His career has been blighted by an influx of injury problems as of late and as noted by James Horncastle of BT Sport, after the player picked up another knock earlier in the year, his form has taken a hit as a result:

Milan are engulfed in something of a lull at the moment and if a club like Arsenal comes calling for El Shaarawy, then it’s easy to see why he’d potentially jump at the chance of joining. But after bursting onto the scene at the San Siro, his star has faded substantially, and getting games under his belt must be the priority.

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The Italy man hasn’t featured for the Rossoneri since January because of the aforementioned problem and before he thinks about moving away, getting fit and nailing down a regular place in the team must be the order of the day. Do so, and his talent will eventually shine through, and European football’s elite will eventually come calling again.