£31m winger makes Arsenal transfer ambition clear in direct message to Mikel Arteta - 'My dream'

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been sent a clear transfer message by Luiz Henrique of Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Brazil national team

Zenit Saint Petersburg forward Luiz Henrique has stated his dream is to play in the Premier League, with Arsenal a club he is very fond of. The 24-year-old left Brazilian side Botafogo for Zenit in the summer of 2024 in a £30.7million deal, but he is already looking towards the future.

During an interview with Globo Esporte, Henrique was asked about a potential return to Botafogo and while he remained coy on that, Arsenal were namedropped when he later spoke about his long-term ambitions.

"I can’t talk about that [returning to Botafogo], because I’m at Zenit and I want to do a good job here. It’s a club with great structure, and I want to make history and win titles. For now, I’m going to keep the Botafogo fans curious. I can’t say if I’m coming back now.

“I’m going to let life take me. I want to fulfil my contract here at Zenit, but I have dreams of playing for a team in England and playing in the Champions League.

"Since I was a kid, my dream has always been to play in England. There’s a team there that I like a lot, which is Arsenal. But, as I said, I want to fulfil my contract first.”

Henrique has made 17 appearances for Zenit this season with one goal and three assists arriving in that time. 10 goal contributions with Real Betis during the 2022/23 campaign remains as his best best personal year.

Considering how well Arsenal are currently performing, Henrique, who has made 11 appearances for the Brazil senior national team and scored two goals, is certainly setting his ambitions very high and he certainly seems capable of achieving his goals.

Mikel Arteta's side will be looking to make it 17 games unbeaten this weekend as they face arguably one of their biggest challenges of the season so far with a trip to Chelsea.

24 hours before Arsenal's dominant win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Enzo Maresca's side put three past Barcelona without reply which has made Arteta even more aware of the quality they possess.

He said: "Obviously it's a big game, it's a big London derby. We're going to play a really, really good opponent; they are in really good form.

"We know the challenge, we know the opportunity that we have as well on Sunday, so we are fully ready for it. They are there [at the top of the table] because they fully deserve what they have done in the last few years.

"I think the squad that they assembled, the numbers that they have, the quality that they have the number of coaches they have it makes sense that what is happening there is very, very positive and they deserve to be there."

Chelsea can move to within three points of their London rivals with a victory while the Gunners will be aiming to extend their gap at the top.