It was just a few seasons ago that Phillipe Coutinho was considered one of the best players in the world. He was therefore the first point of call for Barcelona when Neymar shockingly left to join PSG.
Coutinho himself was so desperate to make the move that he handed in a transfer request, but Liverpool refused to sanction the move. So was Barcelona’s faith in him that they returned 6 months later, and finally signed him in January, 2018 for €145million.
His first half season, though unspectacular, yielded the La Liga title. However, his underwhelming performance in the 2018/19 season meant he never quite nailed down a position in the starting eleven. Quite simply, he never settled in Catalunya.
Eighteen months after his big money move, Coutinho was on his way out (temporarily of course). Some reports claim that the move away from the Camp Nou was agitated for by the player himself, a request that the club were too happy to accept. And so Bayern Munich came in. One year later, Coutinho is a treble winner, and Barcelona have gone “trophy-less”. With 38 appearances, 11 goals and 9 assists in all competitions, this cannot be said to be an extraordinary season, performance wise, for Coutinho, though there have been flashes of brilliance at certain moments during the season, like his cameo against his parent club. His future however is still up in air after Bayern decided against making his stay permanent.
New Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman was not very assuring when he spoke about Coutinho after his appointment. “He is a Barça player and if we have to make decisions, we will make them.” Koeman said in his maiden press conference. The player himself isn’t so sure about where his future lies. His agent has been floating the idea of the player returning to the Premier League, with Arsenal reported to be a possible destination.
Arsenal’s current financial situation is not so healthy, as evidenced by the employee lay-offs we have seen. So it is quite obvious that they are not in a position to buy him outright as Barcelona will be looking to recoup a significant chunk of their investment. That leaves a loan option. The stumbling block however will be the exorbitant wages he commands. The club is currently struggling to move on their highest earner, Mesut Ozil, to free up the wage bill, a move that has proved unsuccessful thus far. It is therefore no secret that arsenal cannot afford his wages.
Arsenal will be best served by looking at other options, for this deal is a million miles away, and quite simply, unrealistic.
