Journalist makes Raphinha to Arsenal claim after Gunners failed to sign him last year

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Arsenal tried long and hard to sign Raphinha last summer, but the Brazilian joined Barcelona in the end.

The talented winger, who played for Leeds United in the Premier League, was a wanted man. Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all went in for a battle to sign him, but all three London clubs failed.

Raphinha had made his mind up that he wanted to go to Barca, and he got his wish. Just a year later, however, things could change.

Journalist makes Raphinha to Arsenal claim after Gunners failed to sign him last year

Arsenal chief Edu Gaspar confirmed in an interview last year that he tried to sign Raphinha from Leeds United.

“We did have some conversations with Deco because Deco is his agent and I have a good relationship [with him] – we are friends,” Edu told Sky Sports last year.

“I just said to Deco, ‘Can you explain to me the situation with Raphinha?’ and he was clear, ‘Edu, we have a good relationship but I’m not going to lie to you, his idea is to go to Barcelona because he’s dreaming to go to Barcelona, and we’ve been talking to Barcelona since a long time ago’.”

Arsenal couldn’t sign any winger in the end last summer. They went after Mykhaylo Mudryk in January but that move didn’t materialise either. Arteta and Edu then signed Leandro Trossard and he’s proving to be a sensational buy.

However, it looks like the Gunners want to sign another winger this summer, and Pete O’Rourke has claimed that Edu could make a move to sign Raphinha again.

He told GiveMeSport: “I think there’s a possibility they could revisit the situation with Raphinha; it seems Arsenal sporting director Edu is a huge admirer of his fellow Brazilian.

“A lot will depend on what’s going on at Barcelona this summer. If they need to sell players to raise funds, which it looks likely, Raphinha could be made available on the market and I’m sure that will pique Arsenal’s interest if they think they can land the former Leeds man on a cheap deal.”

TBR View:

Arsenal have plenty of options in attack at the moment, which makes you wonder if they really are interested in signing another winger this summer.

However, when you look closely, Bukayo Saka is the only left-footed right-winger at the club, and when he’s unavailable, Arsenal are forced to tweak the way they play.

That could be why Raphinha’s name is back on the rumour mill again, and the Brazilian, branded as an ‘unbelievable‘ player, would be a fine signing for the Gunners if they can get him.

Whether Barcelona will sell him this summer, however, remains to be seen.