Arsenal’s attacking options have really excelled in recent weeks, helping the Gunners show some superb form in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta is rather blessed when it comes to attacking players, with the likes of Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka to choose from behind the central striker.
However, if one of them were to pick up an injury, then this could leave Arsenal pretty short, especially with Nicolas Pepe‘s future up in the air.
football.london understands that the Ivorian winger is assessing his options at the Emirates Stadium because of the lack of minutes he has played this season.
So, if Pepe were to leave the Gunners, then the drop off from Odegaard, Martinelli, Smith Rowe and Saka would be rather big. It definitely would not hurt Arteta to bring one more class creative midfielder to the club next month.
One man that is being linked with a return to the Premier League is Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian star moved to Barca in January 2018 for way over £100million, but has failed to live up to expectations during his time in Spain.
Coutinho, who is valued at just £18million on Transfermarkt now, was such a fantastic talent during his time with Liverpool – and he could look to end his nightmare spell in Spain and return to England.
(Image: Photo by Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
According to Sport, via Sport Witness, the 29-year-old is the highest earner at Barcelona at the moment and they are looking to offload him to lower their wage expenditure.
It is being reported that the Catalan club have ‘a lot of work’ to do in the coming days in order to offload some of their most expensive players, including Coutinho.
Xavi is said to ‘not want’ Coutinho as part of his long-term Barcelona project, which is why the club are looking to move the Brazilian on next month.
Arsenal, as well as Everton, are ‘possible destinations’ for the former Liverpool man, the report goes on to mention.
With all this being said, Coutinho’s former Liverpool team-mate and Brazilian compatriot, Roberto Firmino, may already have explained to Arsenal exactly why they should make a move for the Barcelona man.
Speaking in October 2020, Firmino said to FIFA.com: “He’s phenomenal. You simply can’t say that he’s not a magician. He has magical powers. He produces plays that don’t exist, that you couldn’t make up.
“You always have to watch replays of his plays to understand what he’s done. He’s an unbelievable player. It was a pleasure to play with him at Liverpool, and it’s a pleasure to play with him for the Selecao.
“I’m a huge fan of his. He’s one of the very best players in the world.”
Barcelona boss Xavi recently opened up on what Coutinho needs to do in order to become a key player in his plans at the Nou Camp.
He said: “Coutinho is someone who can play in various positions and he can be important for the team. He needs to re-find himself and recover his confidence.
“If he does, he will help us a lot. He has an innate talent.”