Aston Villa with a £40m bid on Norwich's midfielder Emi Buendia

has confirmed that Aston Villa are leading Arsenal in their pursuit of Norwich playmaker

Emi Buendia

, with Dean Smith's side making a "very strong" bid. 

Since coming in England in 2018, the 24-year-old has seen his status grow. He was named to Argentina's senior team for the first time during the most recent round of international games. 

The Gunners have yet to make a bid for Buendia, with Villa currently considered as the top runners to capture him after making their approach.

Any move involving Buendia, one of Norwich's standout performers in recent seasons, is expected to fetch roughly £40 million ($57 million). 

Villa are the ones who have demonstrated a stronger readiness to approach close to that sum with a high-profile bid. 

Arsenal has not made a formal bid for the player, but they appear to need to act quickly to prevent missing out on the Argentine. 

Mikel Arteta is still weighing his choices when it comes to new recruits to his creative team. 

Martin Odegaard

excelled on loan from Real Madrid and continues to pique Arsenal's interest.

He will, however, return to Real Madrid, where it is unclear what role he will play under new manager

Carlo Ancelotti

. 

The 24-year-old Buendia is a different possibility that has been on the Emirates Stadium radar for a while.

Follow 

 for the