Athletico Paranaense’s Vitor Roque has become one of the most sought-after talents in South America, with several top European clubs vying for his signature.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, Roque has dealt a major blow to their transfer hopes by declaring his intention to play for Barcelona. While Roque’s decision is undoubtedly disappointing for Arsenal fans, who seemed pretty excited on Twitter posting comps when the rumours came out – and why wouldn’t they, this guy seems like the next big thing coming out of Brazil.
Sport asked Roque about the prospects of playing for Barcelona and moving to Europe, he said: ‘Yes of course. I work for this. The competitions I played last year, the Libertadores and the Brasileirao, will help me to be well prepared when I go to Europe.
‘I am very happy to be 18 years old, which now allows me to play abroad. My goal is to continue working with humility, because with faith in God everything will turn out well.
‘If I end up going to Barca, it will be a great joy for my family and for me. For this reason, I have to continue working hard and hope that everything will come to fruition over time.’
Arsenal, although, are in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to striking options with top talents like Eddie Nketiah & Flo Balogun among their ranks as deputy to Gabriel Jesus. We also have Khan Edwards coming up from the academy, who looks like an interesting prospect. And ofcourse, Mika Biereth and Nikolaj Moller – who are developing on loan in Netherlands.
Although the ambition from Mikel Arteta and Edu to constantly keep pushing to acquire top talents speaks in abundance about this Arsenal project and the sustainability around it.
