PSV winger Cody Gakpo has admitted that he likes Arsenal “a lot” as the 22-year-old continues to be linked with a move to the Premier League.
The Gunners, Manchester United and Liverpool are all rumoured to have an interest in signing the Netherlands international in the summer transfer window.
Gakpo, meanwhile, revealed that he has been enquiring about England's top flight and that an Arsenal legend was among his heroes while growing up.
What has been said?
“Everybody wants to play one time in the Prem,” the attacker told The Sun. “I don’t favour one team but I like Arsenal a lot.
“I looked up to [Thierry] Henry when I was younger because he was a tall guy who played on the wing.
“The Premier League is a big league. Virgil van Dijk plays there with Liverpool so I like to watch them. We are not the same kind of league but I think we try to look at the Prem and learn about it.
“If I can make a step to a team who plays in the Champions League every season, of course it is my dream. But I still have a contract. Maybe there comes a club I cannot say no to.
“Maybe they won’t come and I have to stay but for now I just want to keep working on this season.”
Regarding the conversations he has had with his Netherlands team-mates, he added: “I played with [Steven] Bergwijn, Denzel [Dumfries] and Donyell Malen. When I see them with the national team we speak about how it’s going at their clubs.
“Stevie is playing in the Prem [with Tottenham] and doing well. He has given me his advice about the league and told me how it feels to play in the Prem because I was curious about other countries.”
The bigger picture
Gakpo will have the chance to showcase his talents to an English audience when PSV take on Leicester in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals.
Ahead of Thursday's clash at the King Power, he said: “[Leicester] have some really good players.
“We are going into the first game to win. We can show them how good we are. Personally, I will need to bring my best performance."