Arsenal had a €70m (£62m) offer for Raphinha rejected by FC Barcelona in January
Reports indicate that Arsenal had a €70m (£62m) offer for Raphinha rejected by FC Barcelona in January, with the Catalan club wanting to maintain hold of the former Leeds United star.
Having lost out on Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea, Mikel Arteta’s side reportedly made a late approach to capture the Brazilian international after seeing Barcelona secure the winner in the summer.
After settling in Barcelona, Raphinha has had a rough time in Spain. The 26-year-old forward struggled early on in his time in Catalonia, but he has found his footing in the new year, appearing often for Xavi Hernandez’s team in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League.
According to the source, the coaching staff at Barcelona places high importance on Raphinha, and the club’s fans are now warming up to the former Elland Road superstar following a rocky start to his time with Xavi. This was seen in January when the player turned down an offer from Arsenal.
As it turns out, Leandro Trossard of Brighton & Hove Albion provided the missing offensive piece for the north London club. If Barcelona had instead accepted Arsenal’s bid to sign Raphinha, a transaction that would have been one of the largest in the club’s history, things would be quite different today.
Arsenal may still pursue the Brazilian before the summer transfer window, but signing Trossard suggests Arteta is happy with his club’s current crop of strikers, particularly as Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson make their way back from injury.
Many Arsenal fans’ second choice was Raphinha when Chelsea signed Mudryk, but with Trossard proving to be such a great signing, the Gunners may be relieved that Barcelona didn’t accept their offer for the winger. Although Raphinha may be the better long-term answer for depth on the wings, Arsenal may have made the correct call in going all out for Trossard despite having the option to spend £62 million on a central midfielder this summer.
