According to the Mirror, Arsenal have rejected the opportunity to sign Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho this summer.
The Gunners were heavily linked with a move for the £80 million play-maker (TalkSPORT) and all signs pointed at Coutinho making the switch to the Emirates in this window.
Arsenal’s technical director, Edu, has close ties with Coutinho’s agent, Kia Joorabchian, who has been responsible for bringing David Luiz and Cedric Soares to the Emirates over the last year.
Joorabchian, an Arsenal fan himself, has allegedly been pushing Coutinho to Arsenal over the last few weeks. But it now looks like Mikel Arteta has ended his pursuit of the former Liverpool star.
The report claims that the Gunners, despite winning the FA Cup and qualifying for the Europa League next season, aren’t flush with cash and they will have to be smart about their transfer choices.
Arsenal could only have signed one attacker this summer and the report says that Edu, Raul Sanllehi and co have opted to go with Willian over Coutinho.
Right decision?
Financially, that makes a lot of sense. Willian is a free agent and his wages are likely to be a lot lesser than Coutinho’s. The Barcelona star, even on a loan deal, would have cost a lot more than his compatriot, something Arsenal cannot afford at this moment.
The Gunners’ priority is a central midfielder and a centre-half. Top-quality additions in both those areas will cost a lot of money, and snubbing the chance to sign Coutinho might just be in order to acquire their other targets.
Many Arsenal fans aren’t quite convinced with Willian due to his age. However, the Brazilian will bring lots of experience and him coming in for free is an added bonus for the Gunners in a difficult financial climate.
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