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Barcelona's direct line to the Emirates will be ringing off the hook again over the coming months.

The Spanish champions haven't been shy in buying Arsenal players over the last few years with Thomas Vermaelen, Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry among those to make the move.

And it's the example of Fabregas that is most relevant to Barca's ongoing and newly reinvigorated pursuit of Hector Bellerín.

Like Cesc before him, Bellerín was plucked from the Spanish champions' famed La Masia academy as a teen and thrust into first-team action with the Premier League side. He thrived and has become a full Spanish international under the guidance of Arsene Wenger and, MirrorFootball understands, he is happy at Arsenal.

Barcelona, however, need a new right-back after Dani Alves' shock departure to Juventus in the summer. While enquiries for Bellerín in the summer were roundly rebuffed by Arsenal, Barcelona-based newspaper SPORT reports on Monday morning that the Nou Camp outfit are getting involved now in a bid to prevent Bellerín renewing his Gunners deal.

(Image: Getty Images)

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: Mike Hewitt)

Hector Bellerín's current deal expires in 2019, but the club are hoping to extend it until 2021. The right-back is currently valued north of £40million by Arsenal, a fee which would make him the most expensive full-back in history, and should he extend his contract by two years then that asking price would only go up.

Robert Fernandez, Barca's sporting director, has been in contact with the 21-year-old defender, according to SPORT, but there are other options being considered by the club.

(Image: FIFA via Getty)

Veteran Dario Srna of Shakhtar Donetsk is looking to leave the Ukrainian giants and may provide a stop-gap option at a low fee.

Valencia's promising Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo is another target for Barca and, coincidentally, is also being watched by the Gunners.