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Arsenal stance on signing Mesut Ozil replacement amid Philippe Coutinho transfer links
Arsenal are cautious about signing a replacement for Mesut Ozil in the summer transfer window as the Gunners are linked with a move for Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho.
Philippe Coutinho: Barcelona 'willing to take loss' says pundit
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta wants to strengthen his squad this summer, but the north London club are unsure about a move for Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho as a replacement for Mesut Ozil in the upcoming transfer window.
Ozil's contract expires in 2021 and the midfielder has only managed one goal and three assists in 23 appearances in all competitions this season.
The German is currently Arsenal's highest-paid star and earns a reported £350,000-a-week.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are actively looking to get Coutinho off their books this summer, with the Brazilian expected to return to the Nou camp after his loan spell finishes with Bayern Munich.
The Bundesliga club have the option to make his move permanent but appear unwilling to trigger the buyout clause and instead are focusing their efforts on signing Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.
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This, in turn, has seen a host of Premier League clubs linked with a move for Coutinho, who is known to favour a return to England.
However, Arsenal are unlikely to make a move for the attacking midfielder for two reasons.
According to football.london, Coutinho's wages are one issue, while his current performances also don't justify the club taking the risk on the star.
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The report claims Arsenal were not in the market for a No.10 this summer and the club don't view Coutinho as a good enough player to change these plans.
There is also the financial impact of bringing the player to the Emirates to consider.
Coutinho earns a reported £240,000-a-week, which would make him the Gunners second-highest earner behind Ozil.
The club have been working hard to rein in its wage bill and a move for Coutinho would be detrimental to these plans.
On top of that Barcelona would also be looking for a loan fee for the player who is under contract until 2023.
While various loan fee amounts have been reported, according to Football Insider, the Catalan giants have let interested clubs know that Coutinho could be available for just £8m.
However, it claims that this would also require the club to cover all of his wages for the season.
As for Ozil, the player's agent, Dr Erkut Sogut, has been adamant that the playmaker intends to see out his Arsenal contract before considering a move away from the capital.
“At the moment, we don’t even talk about it, because he still has one-and-a-half-years left," Sogut told inews in February.
“He still has 15 months to go. Until then, he will stay at Arsenal, for sure.
"He will stay until the end of his contract. There’s no chance he’ll leave.”