Barca misfit
The rumour of the summer that will not fade away just took another interesting turn today, when allegedly Philippe Coutinho told his new Barcelona boss. Ronald Koeman, that not only does he not want to be part of the Dutchman’s new master plan for the Spanish giants but furthermore he wants to join Arsenal.
The Brazilian playmaker, off the back of a successful season, culminating in a Champion’s League win with Bayern has retuned to his parent club. It was suggested that with the new manager wanting to give Coutinho a significant role, in the post Suarez world, that the player would relish the opportunity to finally establish himself and justify Barca’s heft outlay. However it seems that the opposite is true and that he would rather return to the league where he thrived and Arteta is the type of coach he feels would appreciate him and with whom he would get the central role he had at Liverpool. I wonder if the best apps for football betting are seeing the odds drop on ‘Coutinho to Arsenal’ on the back of this news.
Most Arsenal fans are desperate for the club to sign an alternative creative player to Ozil, one that fits the modern game better. Coutinho certainly operates in the hole but has wider variety beyond the exquisite passing of the German. Arsenal’s inability to break down defensive teams has been marked and they need a player who can not only pass, but also dribble, beat a man with a trick, to break the lines and also shoot and create from nothing if needs be. Coutinho at his best fits the bill, of that there is no doubt.
Arsenal fans, or many at least, are uncomfortable that this would be yet another potential deal where the agent was Kia Joorabchian, on the back of Cedric, Willian and David Luiz. However, is this one instance where the agent being a Gooner could work in our favour? It seems unlikely that Arsenal would which to pay a fee and math the Brazilian’s lofty wages but if the powerful agent brokers a loan deal initially t could appeal to The Gunners. That way Arteta gets to work with the player, see how well he fits into the style he wants to adopt and then should Coutinho help the team have a successful season, look at a purchase in the summer of 2021 when his German predecessor will be off the wage bill.
International teammates
Arsenal are also linked to Thiago and Aouar as creative options but as a reminder, here is an earlier article on what Coutinho could bring as the missing link between midfield and attack. One thing is for certain, he would feel right at home with the three previously mentioned Portuguese speakers and there is the Gabriel and Martinelli to add to the contingent.
Passionate fifty-something Arsenal supporter who has been making the journey to N5 regularly since the early 1980s – although his first game was in 1976. Always passionate when talking about The Arsenal, Dave decided to send a guest blog to Gunnersphere in the summer of 2011 and has not stopped writing about the Gunners since.
He set up his own site – 1 Nil Down 2 One Up – in February 2012, which he moved on in 2016 to concentrate on freelance writing and building Gunners Town, which he launched with Paul in 2014.
The objective of GT was to be new and fresh and to give a platform for likeminded passionate Arsenal fans wishing to write about their team. Dave still of course, writes for the site himself and advises the ever-changing writing crew.
Hi Dave, I hope you are right about Coutinho. Personally I think he is the closest thing we could get to Santi Cazorla and you know how much the Gooners loved him. I just can`t see Barca letting him go if Messi goes through with his intention to leave. I am very hard to persuade that he is not just testing the President to defy him in recent occasions when he has made it clear that the President thinks he is more important to the club than Messi is. You would think that Catalonians have enough on their plates without the possibility of their wee magician leaving. I think the President could be sitting in a very hot chair which could get even hotter if Messi leaves. However those developments are for Barca to deal with but I don`t see all that Wheeling and dealing affecting Arsenal until the dust falls one way or the other.