Arsenal made their first formal offer for Norwich midfielder Emi Buendia on Wednesday, football.london understands.
The bid, believed to be in the region of £30million inclusive of add-ons, was also matched by fellow Premier League side Aston Villa who want to prize Buendia away from Carrow Road.
Buendia, who is currently away on international duty with Argentina, scored 15 goals and provided 15 assists in the second tier last season and was named Championship Player of the Season.
football.london had previously reported Arsenal's interest in Buendia last December, but the Gunners were priced out of a move for the Argentine, and switched their focus to Martin Odegaard who joined on loan from Real Madrid in January.
A source told football.london that it will be a 'difficult choice' for Buendia if both Arsenal and Villa offer similar financial packages, but the Gunners remain confident of landing their man later this month.
Buendia's former club Getafe are set to receive 20 per cent of any fee Norwich receive for the midfielder due to a sell-on clause within his contract.
"One always dreams of being at the highest level and in the best teams in England, Spain or Europe," Buendia told AS.
"One dreams of playing for titles, it is an ambition that I have, it is a pride that important clubs are interested in you, it means that you are doing things well and it is a motivation to continue working and one day achieve it."
Norwich have a set an asking price of £40million for Buendia, with the likes of Todd Cantwell and Max Aarons all attracting interest from teams in the top flight.
The Canaries director of football Stuart Webber has insisted that they will only be sold if the price is right.
"If anyone wants any of those guys they are going to have to break our club transfer record (£25million) to even get me to answer the phone, to be honest. All three are aware of that," said Webber.
"One of them may go, maybe two or all three of them will go, who knows - but the facts are that this team isn't about one or two players. For us to be successful in the Premier League it's going to be how does the squad of 20 do, not if one player performs brilliantly."
Buendia was a stand-out player for the Canaries in their disappointing Premier League campaign a season ago, creating 3.1 chances per 90 minutes and notching seven assists as they were relegated from the top flight.
