Arsenal face frustration in their bid for Cagliari attacker Nicolo Barella.

The Mirror says Gunners manager Unai Emery wants to sign a playmaker for a midfield that could otherwise be short on guile once Aaron Ramsey has made his Bosman free transfer to Italian champions Juventus .

Barella is seen as the ideal candidate, and Arsenal scouts were on hand to see the 22-year-old open his goals account for Italy last weekend in a Euros qualifier against Finland.

However, his £43million valuation is a lot to ask of a club limited to loan deals in the January window because of their lack of available cash.

Indeed, Arsenal's top brass are unwilling to sanction splashing out that sort of fee on one player this summer unless they have made it back into the money-spinning world of European football's top club competition, either with a top-four finish or as Europa League winners.