Philippe Coutinho has emerged as a surprise transfer target for Arsenal.
But comments made by his agent Kia Joorabchian last month suggest a move to north London may be off the cards before the Gunners even have a chance to thrash out a deal.
Arsenal are reportedly set to talk to Barcelona officials on Sunday, when the two sides meet for the Joan Gamper Trophy at the Nou Camp.
Barcelona want a fee of around £27million to let Coutinho leave on loan for the season, according to reports from Spain, which would make the deal difficult for the cash-strapped Gunners.
What's more, Joorabchian isn't convinced the 24-year-old Brazilian would sign for any other Premier League club due to his affinity with Liverpool.
Last month Coutinho was linked with a move to Manchester United, which his agent quickly played down.
"Manchester United is a great club, I have players there and I have all the respect for them, but as far as Philippe goes, it would be an extremely difficult to a near-impossible move," Joorabchian told talkSPORT.
"I would be very difficult for Philippe to play for any of Liverpool's rivals, because he has such a great affinity towards Liverpool. His time there was fantastic. It would be hard for him to go to a rival."
On other clubs in the Premier League, Joorabchian added: "Every time we've spoken about it we've had that same conversation, he would find it hard to play for another club in the Premier League."
