Jude Bellingham has been told that Arsenal could end up being a more attractive club to join than Liverpool by the time the summer transfer window rolls around.
The teenager is wanted by just about every major outfit in world football such is his frightening level of technical prowess for someone so young, but it has long seemed the case that if any Premier League side were going to lure him away from Borussia Dortmund, it would have been Liverpool.
The Reds are known long-term admirers of Bellingham and many believe that the reason Jurgen Klopp did not bolster his midfield options in the summer transfer window was because Liverpool are waiting to make a serious move for the Englishman.
That plan could soon be derailed, however, as former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has claimed that if the respective trajectories of Arsenal and Liverpool continue on their current trend, Bellingham may favour a switch to the Emirates over Anfield.
Mikel Arteta's side sit top of the pile after nine games played having won eight and lost just once, with their most recent victory coming against Klopp's Reds.
The 3-2 win at the Emirates on Sunday now sees the Gunners occupy top spot for another match-week, while Liverpool's second defeat of the season leaves them languishing as low as 10th - an astonishing 14 points adrift of Arsenal.
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Having now already got one over on them this season, Lescott has tipped the Gunners to be the scourge of Liverpool once more in the summer when the race for Bellingham hots up again.
Speaking to BT Sport, the former City star claimed: "If Arsenal manage to get top four, which I think they do, then they attract a whole different calibre of player. I can see people like Jude Bellingham deciding over them [Liverpool and Real Madrid].
"If you are looking at Liverpool, who potentially may or may not make top four, and Arsenal you're thinking, 'They've got Champions League'. Now all of a sudden you are attracting a different calibre of player.
"I'm not saying he is [going to Arsenal]. But his decision is going to be based on Champions League, in terms of the stature of the club it's going to have to be relevant and match his ambitions."
Klopp has already ruled Liverpool out of the title race given the huge points gap that currently separates them from the top spot, but should they miss out on Champions League qualification that would surely end any chance they have of landing Bellingham.
Arsenal on the other hand look on course to end their hiatus from European football's elite club competition, which will only help their prospects of pulling off one of the most audacious transfers in recent memory.
