Arsenal could well face another battle with Barcelona after the Spanish giants were linked with a move for midfielder Alex Song who is seen as a possible replacement for Seydou Keita.

The La Liga side spent the majority of last season in negotiations with Arsenal as they finally agreed a deal to sign Cesc Fabregas and it seems they may once again look to convince another midfielder to trade the Emirates for the Camp Nou.

Spanish newspaper Sport has reported that Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova is looking to fill some gaps in his squad and is currently looking to find a replacement for Keita who made the move to China earlier this summer.

Alex Song
Arsenal's Alex Song is wanted by Spanish giants Barcelona [Reuters] Reuters

They believe that Song is being viewed as the ideal replacement and that Barcelona would be prepared to offer as much as €15million for a player who linked superbly well with Robin van Persie last season.

Fabregas is known to be a good friend of Song and Barcelona are hopeful that they will be able to convince the Cameroon international to join his former team-mate in Spain.

The 25-year-old is viewed as a cheaper alternative to Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez who is another player that has been strongly linked with a move to Barcelona in recent months after being a member of the Spain squad that won Euro 2012.

Song may be viewed as more of a defensive midfielder but he did manage to gain 11 assists in the Premier League last season and would certainly compare favourably to his fellow African midfielder Keita.

Arsenal will also be worried about Song's contract situation as he currently has two years remaining on his contract and they would not want a situation like that of Robin van Persie who has refused to sign a new deal and is in the final 12 months of his contract.

Barcelona believe that this will help them in their pursuit of the midfielder who they know extremely well having played Arsenal on numerous occasions in the Champions League.

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