Mikel Arteta gives his ‘yes’ for the arrival of Barcelona midfielder at Arsenal

With the January window almost here, transfer activity across clubs is picking up pace.

Barcelona are already set to welcome Ferran Torres from Manchester City, with the signing all but completed. But the focus will now shift towards moving on the deadweight from the squad in order to free up space on the wage bill.

One player that the Blaugrana remain desperate to move on in January is Philippe Coutinho. The 29-year-old will complete four years at Camp Nou next month but safe to say that Barça’s massive investment in the Brazilian has failed to pay off.

Not entirely favoured by manager Xavi Hernandez, Coutinho will be allowed to leave in the upcoming window. And, according to SPORT, the ex-Liverpool ace could be headed back to the Premier League, with Arsenal seemingly interested in his services.

Indeed, the report claims that the Gunners manager, Mikel Arteta, approves of the signing of Coutinho as he believes that he can help the team achieve a top-four finish.

Arsenal missed out on European football for this season and are desperate to get back into the top four. The north London giants are currently occupying fourth place in the Premier League table, but with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang falling out with the manager and Nicolas Pepe out of favour, attacking reinforcements would be welcome at the Emirates.

To that end, Coutinho has now emerged as a target and negotiations are believed to be taking place, although they are at a very early stage. Barcelona would prefer to sell Coutinho outright, but there is a chance that it might end up being just a loan deal, the report adds.

Since joining Barcelona from Liverpool, Coutinho has made 106 appearances in all competitions, producing a return of 25 goals and 14 assists. One of the highest earners at the club, he still has 18 months left on his contract.

Moving him on would lift a huge burden off Barça’s wage bill, creating space to register new players. What remains to be seen is whether Arsenal follow through on their interest and sign him up.