Bradley Barcola is not the only name Arsenal will be watching when France face Paraguay in the World Cup round of 16 on Saturday night.
The PSG winger put in an outstanding display against Sweden, as they dispatched Viktor Gyokeres and his side 3-0.
Barcola was dynamic and direct, culminating in a goal that sent Arsenal fans into a bit of a frenzy on social media.
The biggest compliment you could give him is that he hasn’t looked out of place alongside Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, and Kylian Mbappe.
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William Saliba will also be involved, continuing to manage his back injury admirably while putting in solid displays for Les Bleus.
But there is another reason Arsenal fans should be paying close attention on Saturday.
Manu Kone is expected to start for France against Paraguay
France should beat their round of 16 opponents, but Paraguay will make it difficult having already knocked out Germany and Kai Havertz in the last round.
Aurelien Tchouameni has been ruled out with a thigh problem, with L’Equipe confirming that Manu Kone will start alongside Adrien Rabiot in midfield.
Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira recently hailed Kone as France’s best midfielder, and now he gets the chance to prove it on the biggest stage.
The Gunners have been linked with Kone, with a possible £43million price tag mooted earlier in the window.
However, Fabrizio Romano has since played down suggestions of advanced talks, with the Roma midfielder described as “not seen as a target.”
The priority in midfield remains Bruno Guimaraes, with Ayyoub Bouaddi and Alex Scott also strongly admired.
But perhaps a standout performance against Paraguay in a World Cup knockout game could change things.
Arsenal’s recruitment team will no doubt be watching, and if Kone delivers tonight, it would be hard for them to ignore him entirely, regardless of what has been reported.
If he grabs this opportunity, expect the noise around him and Arsenal to get louder.
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