Arsenal will have to battle Premier League title rivals Manchester City on two fronts in the summer transfer window, according to reports.

After leading the Premier League standings for most of the season, the Gunners have now been leapfrogged by Man City in the home straight of the season.

Arsenal, who have Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Wolves to play in their final three matches, are only one point behind City but Pep Guardiola’s men have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta’s side.

There is a chance Arsenal could still have the last laugh this season but Man City are looking to spoil their summer by poaching a highly-rated youth player and hijacking one of Arteta’s top targets.

Football Insider claims that their sources have told them that Arsenal are ‘doing all they can’ to prevent Man City taking youngster Ethan Nwaneri to the Etihad Stadium. They insist that ‘a well-placed Arsenal source has revealed that an exit for Nwaneri is not done and dusted despite strong interest from the Premier League leaders’.

Nwaneri became the youngest ever Gunners player when he made his debut for the club against Brentford in September 2022 with that still the midfielder’s only appearance for the first team to date.

He can only sign a professional contract when he turns 17 in March 2024 and Arsenal ‘would only be due a compensation package for his training and education as the youngster is yet to pen his first professional contract’.

The report adds that Man City have ‘spotted an opportunity to pounce for Nwaneri’ while Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea have ‘also monitored the youngster’s situation in recent months’. It has been widely reported that West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is Arteta and Arsenal technical director Edu’s top transfer target this summer as they look to strengthen their midfield options.

There have been claims recently that a deal for Rice could reach as much as £130 million if the Hammers have a number of clubs involved in a bidding war. That is something Arsenal would want to avoid but Man City could provide competition with Football Insider claiming that the Citizens are preparing an ‘unexpected swoop’ for Rice.

It is understood that City are ‘laying the groundwork with alternative targets following a big blow in their pursuit of Jude Bellingham’ and the defending Premier League champions ‘could now formalise their long-term interest in Rice as the summer window approaches’.

• A Mirror report