Arsenal have been linked with Barcelona duo Samuel Umtiti and Ivan Rakitic.
The Sun say the Gunners and Manchester United “have been put on red alert” after speculation that both players could be up for sale when the transfer window opens in January.
It follows reports in the Spanish press suggesting that Barca could offload both players in an attempt to raise transfer funds.
Rakitic, whose contract runs until 2021, has been linked with a number of English clubs during the last year or so.
United were linked with Umiti over the summer and were reportedly ready to pay £46m for him. Arsenal boss Unai Emery is also said to be an admirer of the player.
Emery’s immediate priority is getting Sead Kolasinac fit for the game against Aston Villa on Sunday, when Rob Holding could be available.
“I think every player can be important for us,” Emery said at a press conference, as reported by the BBC.
“Sometimes we are going to have one plan and we’ll need to change that to use different players in each match.
“We have some new players and players who we need to work with for their adaptation in the next matches. Progressively, they’re getting better.”