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Arsenal target Victor Valdes could remain at Barcelona for another season
ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger may be forced to give up his pursuit of Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes this summer.
Valdes has been tipped for a switch to the Premier League with Arsenal, although Monaco are also tracking the shot-stopper.
Wenger's bid to secure the 31-year-old may prove fruitless this summer however, with reports in the Spanish press indicating that Valdes is reconsidering his decision to leave Barcelona after their Champions League mauling by Bayern Munich.
The Catalan outfit's number one has been with the club throughout the entirety of his professional career, and is said to be having second thoughts about leaving at the end of a troubled season.
While Barca look set to lift the La Liga title in the coming weeks, the nature of their 7-0 aggregate defeat to Munich has shocked the players.
Valdes was unable to avoid conceding so many as Bayern overpowered the Spanish side - recently hailed as 'the greatest team in history - and he is weighing up the idea of staying on for another year and leaving on a free transfer in 2014.
His loyalty to the club is admirable, but won't be well received by the Gunners who had targeted him as a potential replacement for the errant Wojciech Szczesny.
Wenger may be forced to turn to £5m-rated Hamburg keeper Rene Adler in response, although the German side claim Arsenal are yet to make contact.
Arsenal's options are diminishing however, as it appears Sunderland's Simon Mignolet and Stoke's Asmir Begovic have been discounted by the Frenchman after learning their clubs value them both at around £15m.