Philippe Coutinho’s recent career has been well documented as a major flop since leaving Liverpool for Barcelona in a massive £142million deal two years ago.
The Brazilian playmaker struggled in his first season at the Camp Nou and was rather quickly sent to Bayern Munich last summer. However, the Bundesliga champions recently revealed that they won’t be exercising the option to buy the 27-year-old which means he faces a crossroads in his career in the next transfer window.
Barcelona have expressed their desire to sell Coutinho to raise much-needed funds for more long-term investments for the squad, leaving several clubs on high alert over the player’s availability.
As is the case with many big money signings who fail to impress, public opinion on the player’s true quality can quickly be skewed. For Coutinho, the memories of being the main man for Liverpool before a move to the Camp Nou now seem a long time ago and perhaps represents a major question mark over where his next destination should be.
The possibility of signing for Newcastle United, who are likely to soon be boosted by a big money takeover, has been suggested yet the move from the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich to Tyneside appears a strange one and probably one that wouldn’t suit Coutinho.
However, signing for Arsenal could be an interesting possibility for both club and player when you consider how Mikel Arteta might use the playmaker.
It is easy to forget just how good Coutinho was at Liverpool given the amount of attention paid to his apparent demise since leaving Anfield. The psychological impact endured by the lack of success during his dream move to Barcelona is impossible to quantify, but returning to the Premier League could do his confidence the world of good.
After all, the English top flight is where he made a name for himself and it is clearly a league that suits his style of play when used in the right system. 78 goal contributions in 152 Premier League appearances for Liverpool stands as an impressive record and one that rightly earned him his dream move to the Catalan giants.
That type of quality hasn’t been shown in either La Liga or the Bundesliga but taking a more granular look at Bayern Munich this season shows that he is a frequent source of creativity.
Data provider Statsbomb, via FBRef, credits Coutinho with 5.08 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes which sees him rank third-highest in the German top flight - behind Thomas Muller and Christopher Nkunku.
Further 0.78 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes ranks the 27-year-old in sixth-highest and further showcases how impressive he can be when you view his individual performances in isolation, instead of following the consistent narrative that he is a flop.
Bayern Munich’s refusal to meet the £97million option to buy set by Barcelona shouldn’t be viewed as a failure on Coutinho’s part. That sort of money is unlikely to be spent by many clubs in the upcoming transfer window and the plethora of talent at Hansi Flick’s disposal means that spending nearly £100million on Coutinho is unnecessary.
For Arsenal, though, signing Coutinho could address the void expected to be left by Mesut Ozil in the near future. The Brazilian would be well suited to playing centrally in an advanced playmaker position and could thrive around the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe.
When placed within the context of his previous success in the Premier League, the arrival of Coutinho could be an exciting proposition for Arteta. His ability to link-up play in key attacking areas may bring the best out of his attacking counterparts and provide consistency going forward.
A key question mark over the possibility of this deal is whether Arsenal can agree a deal with Barcelona. The Catalan club are expected to lower their asking price for the Brazilian given their need for increased funds but it remains to be seen how much money they are willing to lose from the £142million deal just over two years ago.
And it remains to be seen just how much Arsenal will have to spend following the coronavirus crisis, with the Gunners highly unlikely to offer the kind of money Barcelona will accept.
For Arsenal though, the priority of signing defensive options may be something that limits the possibility of signing Coutinho on a permanent basis.
There is the possibility he could join the Gunners on loan, with an £8million loan fee and all of his wages mooted as a potential deal the Catalans would accept, and that is the one way in which the deal could be done.
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