Spurs make Coutinho loan bid – are Arsenal right to let this deal pass them by?

Tottenham now look the most likely to sign Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona.

TalkSPORT claim that Spurs have launched a bid to sign the player temporarily, while reports in Italy explain that Arsenal want to sign a defender instead.

With the Gunners now looking set to miss out to their London rivals, are they making a mistake or is this a sign of sensible business?

Read Arsenal verdict

While it’s very easy to get sidetracked when you see a player of Coutinho’s quality being offered to you, this may just be a wise move from Arsenal to pass up on the opportunity to bring Coutinho in.

The Gunners have already strengthened well in the final third over the summer, but are desperately seeking reinforcements in defence.

No fees have been mentioned at this stage, but you can imagine that any deal to bring in Coutinho, even on loan, would have taken up a large percentage of Arsenal’s remaining budget.

The links to the likes of Daniele Rugani and Dayot Upamecano are positives ones and while Coutinho is an extremely talented player who could add so much to Arsenal’s squad, he is not the addition they desperately need before the start of the new Premier League season.