According to The Telegraph, Arsenal are closely monitoring the progress of Mendoza at Elche and are prepared to join the race to sign the 20-year-old. The Gunners' recruitment specialists have kept a close eye on the Spanish youth international, who could consider triggering his €20m (£17.5m) release clause.
The Gunners, however, will face intense competition from Premier League rivals Manchester City, while La Liga giants Real Madrid have also shown strong interest in signing the Spaniard, who has often been compared to Barcelona and Spain playmaker Pedri.
Arteta is a childhood friend of Madrid boss Alonso and the two Spaniards have a very similar outlook towards football. The duo also battled it out for Martin Zubimendi in the summer, and he ultimately chose Arsenal over Madrid. Arteta also signed Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen after talking to Alonso, who lured Granit Xhaka to Bay Arena from Arsenal in 2023.
Now, it seems the two friends will once again compete in the transfer market to secure a move for Mendoza.
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