{"id":1097670,"date":"2019-07-10T17:54:53","date_gmt":"2019-07-10T16:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1097670"},"modified":"2019-07-10T17:54:53","modified_gmt":"2019-07-10T16:54:53","slug":"frenkie-de-jong-arsenal-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/frenkie-de-jong-arsenal-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"Frenkie de Jong aspired to play for Arsenal before Barcelona move"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barcelona newcomer Frenkie de Jong has revealed that he always held aspirations of emulating\u00a0Marc Overmars’ career path by going from Ajax to Arsenal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 22-year-old joined Barca this summer after completing a \u00a365m move from Ajax in January, with the Dutchman earmarked in some quarters as the ideal heir to Xavi’s central midfield throne in Catalonia.<\/p>\n

De Jong’s dream career path: Five things to know…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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  • De Jong rose to meteoric prominence after playing a star role in Ajax’s Champions League semi-final run last term.<\/li>\n
  • A number of elite clubs were chasing his signature but he ultimately put pen-to-paper at the Camp Nou.<\/li>\n
  • The Dutchman has now revealed he wanted to join Arsenal before moving to Barca.<\/li>\n
  • He has highlighted the career path of Overmars as one he aspired to achieve himself.<\/li>\n
  • But the 22-year-old has skipped past using the Gunners as a stepping stone and signed a five-year deal with Barca.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7311398-alexander-arnold-s-perfect-mentor-the-goat-right-back-is-available-for-free<\/p>\n

    The Netherlands international was giving his thoughts on a move to the\u00a0Blaugrana and while he suggested it was always his ultimate goal to follow in the footsteps of some many of his Dutch predecessors by joining the club, he dropped a huge transfer bombshell by admitting he would rather have joined Arsenal from Ajax before signing for Barca.<\/p>\n

    Speaking to Voetbal International<\/a>, he said: “In my mind I have had the following list for a long time: Ajax-Arsenal-Barcelona, \u200b\u200bcall it the Marc Overmars route.<\/p>\n

    “But then again, if you can go directly to Barcelona then you are right where you want to be. Faster than you ever dared to dream.”<\/p>\n