‘He’s one of them’: Mikel Arteta fires Arsenal warning over ‘quality’ player he rejected in January

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Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has warned his team that they are facing off against a quality player in the form of Philippe Coutinho this weekend.

The Gunners are looking to bounce back from defeat against Liverpool in midweek by seeing off Steven Gerrard’s impressive looking Villa side. The Villans have been buoyed by the arrival of Coutinho in January, who has hit the ground running under the guidance of his former Reds teammate.

Of course, Coutinho was said to be in Arsenal’s sights in January. However, The Mirror reported that Arsenal had indeed turned down the chance to sign the Brazilian. But despite that, Arteta has fired a warning of sorts to his team ahead of facing up to Coutinho.

“He’s one of them. Obviously the team activates a lot of things when he’s on the ball and he’s in dangerous areas. He’s contributed a lot when he’s in their attacking phase, so obviously it’s something that we need to bear in mind,” he told his press conference today.

“His ability to create goals, and to create chances, and to unlock spaces when they don’t exist. That’s a quality that he had (and continues to have), when he was at Liverpool.”

TBR’s View: Coutinho Can Make Arsenal Pay

Make no mistake, Coutinho could swing this game in Villa’s favour on his own. Such is his form and all-round ability, that the Brazilian can be a match-winner. Indeed, Steven Gerrard has lauded his man this term, labelling Coutinho as ‘quality footballer’.

Of course, Arteta will be aware and is clearly respectful of the Villa man. He will have had his reasons for not following through on interest in January. But Coutinho can still make Arteta sit up and take notice.

If Arsenal are to win out this weekend, they’ll need to keep the Villa man quiet.