‘There were rumours Liverpool’: Campbell urges Arsenal to ‘go in and grab’ £60m star

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Kevin Campbell has urged Arsenal to ‘go in and grab’ Raphinha from Leeds United, as he referenced rumours that the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona want to sign him.

Leeds’ trickster on the right is a sought-after player this summer, with Arsenal keen to sign the £60 million superstar, as Campbell stated moving to the Emirates would be a ‘great’ for the player, as he told the Highbury Squad.

Raphinha is your typical Brazilian player with extraordinary flair that has seemingly been imprinted into the country’s DNA because they just keep rolling out dazzling wide players, time and time again.

But could the 25-year-old’s dancing feet take center stage at the Emirates next season? Those in the north London boardroom are certainly hoping that’s the case.

If the Gunners, with no Champions League football to their name, manage to secure Raphinha’s talents, then it would be a statement of intent, as club legend Campbell highlighted.

“I do rate him,” said Campbell. “You can tell by the type of teams that are in for him, there were rumours Liverpool, Bayern Munich and big rumours on Barcelona.

“But Barcelona were hoping he went down (relegated with Leeds), so they could get him for a cut-price. Obviously, that price has stayed up there now. I don’t think Barcelona can afford him.

“Now, wouldn’t it be a great move for Arsenal to go in and grab him? All those teams are Champions League sides. Yet, if we can go in and get him, that tells your ambition.

“We keep hearing, ‘we can’t attract this player and we can’t attract that player and the Champions League is going to make a real difference’.”

WHERE WOULD RAPHINHA PLAY IN ARSENAL’S FRONT THREE?

Raphinha likes to play out on the right and cut in on his favoured left foot for Leeds, so that’s the position he would want to play if he joined Arsenal.

But a certain Bukayo Saka, who was Arsenal’s top Premier League goalscorer with 11 last season, is the man that deploys that position.

However, the Englishman could easily switch to the left, with Raphinha on the right and the club’s new striker signing, which could be Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus, then taking up a central role.

That’s some front three for a team not in the Champions League and it should push Arsenal closer to their target, but those players have to arrive before they can start dreaming of moving forward again.