'Best I've ever seen' - £40m Arsenal target praised by England international and rival

An Arsenal summer transfer target has been described as 'the best' by Manchester City and England star Kyle Walker.

The north London club spent little in the January transfer window but are now readying themselves for a busy summer with plans being made to sign yet another Manchester City player following the success stories of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The Gunners are reportedly preparing to make a move for the Barcelona star Joao Cancelo in the upcoming transfer window and Walker, who captained England against Brazil on Saturday, has said the 29-year-old Portuguese star is the best footballer he's ever seen in his position.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand's YouTube channel, Cancelo was mentioned to Walker and the 33-year-old right-back said of the him: "He's one I should have definitely mentioned in the right-backs. Technically he's the best I've ever seen. Ever seen. Inside, outside, he controls the ball, his dribbling."

Supposedly, the Gunners are ready to make a move for Cancelo should Barcelona fail to take up the £40 million option to buy in the Portuguese's current loan deal. It is not yet known what the Citizens would ask of Arsenal if the Gunners came seeking Cancelo's signature but £40m would be an ideal figure for the Emirates side.

Cancelo can play in both full-back roles and has a proven record in the Premier League and Champions League. Evidently Walker would be concerned if the City star ended up on the other team thus making him a perfect target for the Etihad's current title-rivals.

The full-back began his career with Benfica in 2012 and has since played for Valencia, Inter Milan and Juventus before heading to Manchester City in 2019. He has made over 100 appearances for the Citizens and has 50 international appearances for Portugal, scoring ten goals in the process.

Cancelo headed to Camp Nou at the beginning of this season, having spent the second half of the 2022/23 campaign on loan to Bayern Munich. He has already made 24 league appearances at Barcelona and scored in their Champions League group stage win over Porto which saw them secure a spot in the competition's round of sixteen for the first time since 2020/21.