Aston Villa's Gareth Barry is being targeted

Arsenal are preparing to enter the race to sign Gareth Barry and are also considering a bid for £12 million rated Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani.

Arsene Wenger has drawn up a shortlist of players he wants to add to his squad this summer and his priority is beefing up a midfield that has lost Frenchmen Mathieu Flamini and Lassana Diarra since the turn of the year.

Wenger is searching for a central midfield anchorman to play alongside Cesc Fabregas, who has told the Arsenal manager that he will not be seduced by Real Madrid or Barcelona into a return to Spain this summer.

The Arsenal manager is weighing up bids for Aston Villa's Barry, who has been a mainstay of the England squad this season since moving to a more central, holding midfield role under Martin O'Neill, and 23-year-old Aquilani, who has won four Italy caps and is also attracting interest from Manchester United.