Arsenal to start Philippe Coutinho transfer talks with Barcelona this week with attacker Mikel Arteta’s ‘dream’ signing
ARSENAL are set to thrash out a deal with Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho this week with the attacker Mikel Arteta's "dream" signing.
This comes after Bayern Munich rejected the chance to turn the Nou Camp outcast's loan deal into a permanent arrangement.
The Brazilian ace left Anfield for a £142million switch to Barca in January 2018 but failed to live up to expectations and was shipped out on loan to the German champions last summer.
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The Bundesliga giants had the option to turn it into a permanent arrangement for £105million, but at the end of April chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed the club were not going to take it up.
This came as a major boost for Gunners boss Arteta who views Coutinho as his "dream" summer signing.
And according to the Emirates camp are so desperate to land the midfield maestro that they have pressed for negotiations to start within "the next few days" to get a deal over the line.
Arteta reckons Coutinho will undergo a resurgence if he moves to the Emirates, and will "lead Arsenal to compete against both Liverpool and Manchester City".
Barca are thought to be asking around £71million for the Brazil ace - which has put a spanner in the works for the cash strapped Gunners.
The club's already limited budget was hit by the coronavirus crunch, and they may have to sacrifice at least one of four players including Alexandre Lacazette - to raise enough funds for their summer wishlist.
However the North Londoners remain hopeful of Barca budging on the price tag, as they too have a large hole in their finances as a result of the global lockdown.
Only Lionel Messi, Frenkie de Jong and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stergen are off limits as Nou Camp bosses desperately try to patch up the leaks in their accounts.
Arsenal will face a fight for Coutinho with Chelsea who looked the firm favourites to land him after Liverpool rejected the chance to resign him over the phone.
But Blues legend Frank Lebouef reckons the West Londoners should forget about the Barca outcast and go all out for Bayer Leverkusen ace Kai Havertz.
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Havertz, 20, has taken the Bundesliga by storm and added another double at the weekend in the 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach, taking his season tally to 14 across all competitions.
By contrast, Coutinho has scored eight and assisted six in 22 Bundesliga appearances this term on loan.
The Brazilian has not played since the season restarted due to an ankle injury but is pushing to earn a recall after resuming training.