ARSENAL appear to be frontrunners to land Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona next month.
The Brazil international has been the subject of interest for a host of Premier League clubs after falling out of favour at the Nou Camp.
But the player himself is reportedly leaning towards the Gunners after signalling to Barca bosses he would prefer a move to the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta is said to have ‘given the green light’ to signing the 29-year-old, who left Liverpool for Spain back in January 2018.
Tottenham, Everton and Newcastle are other top flight clubs in the mix for his signature.
But Sport reports Coutinho and his representatives reckon Arsenal can match both his ambition and wage demands.
Barca are understood to prefer a loan move for the player they signed for £145million.
He could be one of five shipped out by the skint Spaniards as they attempt to finance a January move for Manchester City’s Ferran Torres.
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Arteta has previously said of his January transfer plans: “It would be useful to change something, even if it is never easy.
“We are working towards this, to understand what our needs are, and to find the right solutions.”
Countinho would provide competition for Arsenal’s formidable trio of attacking talents behind the striker.
Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard have 16 goal contributions between them in their last six outings.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk