Barcelona to offer Arsenal Coutinho for Aubameyang

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Barcelona are interested in signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal, according to Sky Sports, and being unable to pay what the Gunners would likely demand for the Gabonese forward, they are willing to offer Philippe Coutinho in exchange.

Barcelona paid Liverpool around €160 million for Coutinho in January 2018, but things have been going from bad to worse ever since, both for the Brazilian playmaker and the Catalan club. He hasn’t been able to deliver the impact expected from such a high-profile player as he was at the time, and he was shipped out on what turned out to have been quite a successful loan to Bayern Munich in 2019-20. He said he had left Liverpool and joined Barcelona to win the Champions League, but in the end, Liverpool managed to win the prestigious trophy without him, and he had to leave Barcelona to win it with Bayern the following year.

Arsenal have been trying to sign an attacking midfielder, with Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard topping their list and James Maddison of Leicester City considered as an alternative. Coutinho would perhaps be a good option too, but whether it would be worth relinquishing Aubameyang to get it done is questionable.

The 32-year-old signed a new contract with Arsenal last year and his performances since have been strongly criticized, with many drawing comparisons with Mesut Ozil. However, it should be pointed out that Aubameyang still scored 15 goals for the Gunners last season, and their dismal season would probably have been even worse had it not been for his contribution in that aspect.

It’s also questionable if Aubameyang would want to join Barcelona at the moment anyway, despite the fact that Arsenal won’t be playing European football this term. The Catalan giants are in trouble, with president Joan Laporta recently revealing that their debt right now amounts to a staggering €1.35 billion.