Arsenal: Reports keep making Philippe Coutinho sound even worse

Arsenal’s link to Philippe Coutinho continues to look worse and worse, with recent reports putting the cherry on the awful top.

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m probably the guy least in favor of Arsenal bringing in Philippe Coutinho for anything. I don’t get it, I don’t want it, we don’t want it, and we especially don’t need it. But alas, the link persists.

Recently, the link has generated a new report that the Gunners won’t just be getting Coutinho on loan, they’ll be getting him on loan and be obligated to purchase him at the completion of the loan. Which defeats the purpose of a loan altogether.

But wait, it gets better. Our Arsenal, who is already strapped for cash and stuck with Mesut Ozil, would have to pay a £9m fee just to take Coutinho on loan and when the obligatory purchase clause kicks in, would cost a further £63m.

Coutinho would be Arsenal’s worst idea in recent history

Which I guess is Barcelona’s way of saying, “Once Ozil is gone, you can buy him and remake the Ozil mistake all over again.”

Coutinho is a great player and I was at least kind of open to him joining up on a loan. After all, what can it hurt? We loaned in Dani Ceballos, learned that it probably isn’t going to work out, and sent him on his merry way.

That’s what the idea is behind a loan. If we could have brought in Coutinho just to tide us over until we could get a real, long-term solution, then it’s not the worst idea in the world. But adding that obligatory purchase clause ruins the one little bit of goodness buried in a bad idea.

Arsenal does not need another overpaid, specific player like Coutinho. They don’t need to bury their wages in another superstar who will probably lose interest if the team can’t maintain a presence at the top. And, if they can, it probably won’t be because of Coutinho. It’ll be because all of the other pieces fell into place and Coutinho gave a little added boost that could have been found in so many other places that didn’t cost £72m

Also, by doing this, we’re telling Emile Smith Rowe that he isn’t a part of the future.

The club is missing some key pieces, yes, but that doesn’t mean that Coutinho is one of those key pieces. There are so many other, better, cheaper options out there.