It has been a whirlwind three years for Philippe Coutinho.
Rewind to the 2017/18 season and the Brazilian was setting the Premier League alight, his trademark long-distance curlers and slick passing skills a staple of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
Inevitably, the fleet-footed No.10 attracted interest from Europe’s titans, and when Barcelona came calling in January 2018, the lure of the Camp Nou was too strong to ignore.
However, Coutinho’s career has not followed the trajectory many predicted after linking up with Lionel Messi and co.
The South American’s output was far from derisory, with 13 goals and seven assists in La Liga in 18 months.
But given the initial £105million the Catalan giants forked up for his services, the club were inclined to be somewhat underwhelmed.
A superstar at Anfield, Coutinho seemed to have lost his swagger somewhere along the way.
In an attempt to breathe new life into his career, he joined Bayern Munich on loan last summer.
Joining the Bavarian giants was, of course, a double-edged sword. The desired outcome was Coutinho recapturing his best form for one of Europe’s biggest clubs, but there were fears that he would struggle to nail down a place among a talent-packed squad.
There have been flashes of the old Coutinho at Bayern. He produced a trademark finish in a 3-1 Champions League win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Three days later, he ruled Bayern’s 6-1 crushing of Werder Bremen with a hat-trick and two assists.
However, as the weeks drew on, Coutinho found himself marginalised, and with new Bayern coach Hans-Dieter Flick having seemingly settled on an attacking quartet of Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka, there was no place for the former Inter star.
With that, it is perhaps unsurprising that Coutinho’s value has dropped significantly.
Per the CIES Football Observatory, the 27-year-old is now worth €75.7m (£67.4m), meaning his price has dropped roughly £30m since leaving Liverpool.
With no future at Bayern beyond his current loan spell, and with uncertainty over his place at Barcelona, Coutinho may be one of the names discussed in the corridors of the Emirates Stadium in the coming weeks.
With Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hoping to strengthen his squad this summer, a season-long deal for Coutinho could be a shrewd move for the Gunners.
Should Barca sanction another loan, Coutinho would be presented with a gilt-edged opportunity to rejuvenate his career in the league that originally propelled him to stardom.
The Brazilian would offer stiff competition for Mesut Ozil and Nicolas Pepe, who regularly occupy two of the three spots behind the main striker in Arteta’s system.
With a productive loan spell, Coutinho has the potential to re-establish himself as one of the Premier League’s most feared creative forces.
While Newcastle United are also credited with an interest, Arsenal could yet steal a march.
Gunners supporters would be understandably sceptical given Coutinho’s struggle for consistency since leaving Liverpool, but given Arsenal’s more daring approach to transfers in recent windows (Nicolas Pepe being a chief example), the Brazilian’s arrival in north London is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.
