Arsenal is in a good position at the moment. With less than ten games of the Premier League season to go, the Gunners can start to dream of featuring in the Champions League next season.
The North London side have evolved under Mikel Arteta but remain a work in progress. Arsenal let Aubameyang go this January and may lose more players in the summer, but the Spaniard hopes to add quality replacements to their ranks. Players like Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah could leave in the summer, with their contracts running out.
With Arsenal playing like a well-oiled machine, Arteta knows they are not yet the finished product and has eyes on a couple of players he believes can lift his side to the next level. The challenge of the UEFA Champions League is arduous, and Arsenal would need a deep squad. It is why Arteta hopes to bring in Phillippe Coutinho in the summer.
Arteta targets Coutinho
Phillippe Coutinho is having a fantastic time on loan at Aston Villa, with Steven Gerrard undecided whether to keep him at the club or not. Should Gerrard decide not to activate the option of signing Countinho permanently, the Brazilian would not be short of takers. Coutinho is in brilliant form and would easily get another club in the top flight.
Arsenal have always had a crush on Phillippe Coutinho, and they want to turn their admiration for the Brazilian into a serious relationship. The ex-Liverpool man has always caught the fancy of the Gunners. In the winter transfer window, he was linked with a move with Arsenal. Nothing came off it, as he joined his former Liverpool teammate at Aston Villa.
With his loan to expire in the summer, Barcelona are keen to offload the Brazilian and have placed a permanent transfer price of €40 million on Coutinho. It is now up to Aston Villa to activate the clause.
Problems for Villa in Coutinho pursuit
Aston Villa have the advantage of signing Coutinho as he currently plays for them. However, two problems loom before the West Midlands outfit in their quest for a permanent signing of the Brazilian. The first issue before Steven Gerrard is his salary. Coutinho’s wages are too high for Villa, but it could be negotiated.
According to Fichajes, Arsenal have been interested in bringing Coutinho to the Emirates, and the move could now happen in the summer. With Barcelona open to offloading the Brazilian, Arsenal would have to stump up €40 million, which is what the Spanish side currently evaluates the player they signed for almost €140 million.
Villa hope to sit Coutinho down to renegotiate his salary as they remain in pole position for his signature. Coutinho won Villa’s player of the month for February and has scored four goals and assisted three in ten games.
Steven Gerrard sees him as a key component of his Villa project and has not hidden his desire to sign him permanently.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
