Arsenal Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Joao Carvalho and Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal will reportedly face competition from north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in their bid to sign Benfica youngster Joao Carvalho.

According to Tom Collomosse in the Evening Standard, Gunners scouts, as well as representatives from Spurs and Manchester United, watched the 19-year-old attacking midfielder play for loan club Vitoria Setubal against Braga in the Portuguese top flight in their last outing on Feb. 26. 

Carvalho has started each of Vitoria's last three league games—he was loaned from Benfica at the end of January—predominantly playing in the No. 10 role, and he "is regarded as one of the most promising young players in Portugal," per Collomosse.

In the first half of the 2016-17 season, the Portugal under-21 international enjoyed fine form playing with Benfica B in the Portuguese second tier, netting six goals in 19 appearances, per WhoScored.com.

See some of his highlights below:

A fine distributor of the ball and boasting an intelligent football brain, it is little surprise that he should be on Arsenal's radar.

Carvalho is exactly the type of player who could benefit from playing under Gunners manager Arsene Wenger, and he'd fit well into Arsenal's intricate tactical style.

However, it seems clear that Arsenal will face competition from some Premier League rivals if they try to take Carvalho to the Emirates Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Gunners also look set to face a battle in their attempts to sign Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette.

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According to Sami Mokbel in the Daily Mail, the France international has been identified by Arsenal as a potential target to replace Alexis Sanchez should the Chilean leave in the summer. 

However, Liverpool reportedly have their eyes set on Lacazette as well, with Daniel Sturridge's Anfield future hanging in the balance, per David Maddock in the Mirror.

Arsenal have been tracking Lacazette, 25, for some time and made a £29 million bid for him last summer that was rejected, but he recently indicated that he will leave Lyon at the end of the season, per Canal+ (h/t Metro's Chris Davie).

Per Squawka, Lacazette's consistency in front of goal over the past three seasons has been remarkable as he has carved out a reputation as one of the finest finishers in Europe:

He has netted 22 Ligue 1 goals in 23 appearances so far in 2016-17 and is on track to eclipse his best-ever return in a French top-flight season of 27, per WhoScored.

According to Maddock, the offer of UEFA Champions League football "is a must" for any club wishing to attract Lacazette, while Arsenal could have the edge over Liverpool given "the incentive of living in London."

He would be a brilliant replacement for Sanchez in terms of goalscoring, but there is set to be quite a scrap in the summer to snap up Lacazette.