Philippe Coutinho's exit from Barcelona looks to be close with his next destination turning into a straight north London battle between Arsenal and Tottenham.
That's the view of Spanish football expert Graham Hunter as he gave an update on the former Liverpool star's future on Wednesday morning.
Coutinho has been edged out at Barca where he has failed to set the heather on fire since returning to the club of his youth in a £142m move from Anfield in January 2018.
Barca are keen to get the player off their wage bill as they ramp up a bid to take Neymar bake to the Nou Camp from PSG.
Hunter reckons Coutinho could move out on loan - with Arsenal leading the chase because of Gunners chief Raul Sanllehi spent several years with the club's hierarchy.
Why has it gone wrong for the Brazil star at the Nou Camp though?
Hunter told Alan Brazil's talkSPORT show: "It's a really simple equation because Sergio Busquets in the centre of Barcelona's midfield which is predominantly 4/3/3 has still got this brilliant computer of a brain but athletically he is much slower.
"So while Countinho has been there, while never playing two organising midfielders, Ernesto Valverde has to use somebody to prop up Busquets, to do his running.
"Largely that has been Ivan Rakitic - so that's two of the slots used up where Coutinho would have been trusted in midfield and he has been asked to play as a wide striker and hasn't enjoyed it.
"He hasn't particularly clicked with Messi and we have seen before how Zlatan and Messi didn't find a way to communicate perfectly on the pitch.
"It's actually difficult to play with the best player in the world because Messi has a set of rules that if you understand and play to which Suarez has but Coutinho has found all of the challenges which have been thrown at him too much.
"He has won trophy after trophy at Barcelona but the people who run the club, the fans, the media would regard him as, if not a failure, then a disappointment.
"And for that reason, because they want Neymar, then moving Coutinho out to either Arsenal or Spurs makes sense - and remember Arsenal are run, organised by Raul Sanllehi who knows how to deal with Barcelona.
"Pochettino in a different way coached Coutinho and liked him. You have heard the smoke signals Pochettino has been making about 'don't ask me about signings, change my job description' but he wants signings in there. It's a north London battle to see who can get him and Coutinho will come on loan.
"Although time is tight I do think a deal will get done so Coutinho gets moved out so that the wages are moved out of Barcelona's account and they can move headlong into getting Neymar back."
Coutinho to Arsenal would complete a stunning attacking line-up at the Emirates with Nicolas Pepe making the move from Lille last week to join Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
