Despite hearing quite a lot of no from Barcelona in regards to the availability of David Villa, the dire situation Arsenal are in and the striker’s plea for more playing time are keeping this transfer hope alive, with the gunners still trying to sign the player.

Arsene Wenger may say he’s pleased with his players, with Olivier Giroud and what not all he wants. The truth is that Arsenal, with a game in hand, are sixth in the Premier League, with 34 points, seven behind the 4th place and 22 behind league leaders Manchester United. All the talk of financial responsibility and building for the future won’t do him any good at the end of the season if there isn’t a change for the better.

So he’s trying to get his hands on anything that can make a difference. There aren’t too many great players available at the moment, so Arsenal are taking what they can get. This isn’t their first interest in David Villa, but as January draws to its ending, things are getting desperate. For David Villa as well.

Barcelona do not want to sell the striker, not in January. Despite not being part of the rotation and mostly coming off the bench or not playing at all in the last couple of months, a backup with his kind of credentials isn’t something they’d like to give up on, seeing as how irregularly Pedro is scoring goals and what a bad season Alexis Sanchez is going through.

Still, it seems like Arsenal need a move, and now. Wenger isn’t willing to make Theo Walcott his lone striker, and knows Olivier Giroud won’t get him where he wants. Villa, it seems, is the most suitable player left to chase. The Spaniard is pushing Barcelona to allow him to go, feeling that his comeback from a long, long injury was for naught, playing in only 13 league matches so far, scoring 5 goals.

If Barcelona do change their minds, there’s a good chance that a player that cost €40 million in 2010 might become a £10 million signing at the age of 31.