Arsenal could revive interest in £33m PL star they've 'looked at' before

Arsenal could ‘come again’ for Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho after looking at him ‘in the past’, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The 29-year-old is currently enjoying a successful loan spell with Aston Villa after struggling to make an impact in Spanish football and is expected to depart Camp Nou on a permanent basis in the summer.

Coutinho established himself as one of football’s top talents during a five-year spell with Liverpool, where he registered 54 goals and 45 assists in 201 appearances, resulting in Phil Thompson labelling him a “creative genius”.

His impressive exploits prompted Barca to splash out a whopping £142 million to secure his services back in January 2018, making him one of the most expensive players in history.

However, the Brazil international was unable to replicate that sort of form for the Blaugrana and was offered to Arsenal on loan in 2019 before he was allowed to seek pastures new in the January transfer window.

Coutinho decided to reunite with former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard at Villa Park following his appointment as manager just a couple of months prior in a deal that includes an option to buy for £33m.

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But Gerrard recently revealed the transfer is not as ‘straightforward as people think’, casting doubt over the creative talent’s future.

And according to The Telegraph, Coutinho is going to have to take a significant cut to his £480,000-a-week wages if he is to make his loan move to Villa permanent.

It’s been a dream return to the Premier League so far for Coutinho, who has scored four goals and provided a further three assists in his opening nine outings for his new side.