Arsenal: Barcelona preparing shock move to take 17-year-old forward Chris Willock to Spain

Barcelona are reportedly set to give Arsenal some of their own medicine by poaching highly rated striker Chris Willock.

According to the Mirror, the Catalans want to take the youngster to their famed La Masia academy in Barcelona as they see him as a star for the future.

The Gunners are known to poach young talent from the Barcelona academy and have brought in more than a few players in the years gone by. Cesc Fabregas is the most notable player to have moved to England from the Catalan club's academy before moving back to his boyhood club in 2011 after captaining Arsenal.

The north London club also have emerging right-back Hector Bellerin, who joined Arsenal from the La Liga side's academy in 2011 and has now cemented his place in the Gunners first-team.

The 2014/15 La Liga champions are not pleased and have asked for a rule change to prevent English clubs having a pick of their top youngsters as they are allowed to sign professional contracts at the age of 16 in England, whereas a player has to be 18 years old in Spain to commit to a pro-deal.

Willock is a highly rated forward, who has excelled for the Arsenal U18's this season, and is touted to have a big future ahead of him.

The report claims that Barcelona's international scouting chief Ariedo Braida has identified the pair as future prospects and is keen to take them to Spain as the club look to strengthen their youth setup.

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger has urged his players to keep calm and not change their pre-match preparations too much for the final despite it being a one-off game unlike the long Premier League season.

"The best way to keep things calm is to focus on your game and keep your priorities right. It's not because the environment is different that you should completely change your approach or your game, it's still important to express your strengths on the day," Wenger said, as quoted on Arsenal's official site.