Arsenal and Manchester United Plan Bid for “Ukrainian Messi” – Report

Arsenal and Manchester United are set to battle it out for Dnipro playmaker Yevhen Konoplyanka, according to talkSPORT. Dubbed the "Ukrainian Messi", Konoplyanka is regarded to be among the hottest prospects in European Football and is being tracked by a lot of clubs.

The 23-year-old caught the eye of clubs through his performance for Ukraine in Euro 2012 and scored a stunning goal against England in a World Cup Qualifying game at the Wembley in September last year. The playmaker is expected to be available for a fee in the range of £13m and is keen to move out of his country to ply his trade among the best leagues in the world.

"Yevhen is very highly rated amongst the top teams in England and Germany. The question is simply whether these clubs can meet Dnipro's valuation and the player's expectations," Konoplyanka's agent, James Lippett told talkSPORT.

The youngster has won a lot of accolades for his performance over the years, winning Ukraine's player of the year award twice, in 2010 and 2012. The midfielder was also part of Europa League's Team of the year in 2012, dismissing any notions about his performance when faced against the top teams in Europe.

Arteta on Asia Tour

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta insists that the Gunners are desperate to make a positive impact while on tour in Asia. The north London club shall play their first pre-season game on the 14<sup>th of July in Indonesia before travelling to Vietnam and Japan and subsequently returning to England for the start of the Premier League on the 17<sup>th of August.

"When it comes to the games, we need to put some good performances in and put on a good show. The fans will be excited and we don't know when we're going to get back there. It's going to be important. It's exciting [to go on tour]. We're going to see some very different cultures, different countries and we're going to do a lot of traveling as well," he told www.arsenal.com.

"Just looking at the tour we had last year and how excited people were to see us in their own countries, I think they deserve us 100 per cent involved in that," he added.