Arsenal Transfer News: Rafinha Offered to Gunners by Barcelona
Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign versatile midfielder Rafinha from Barcelona, per a report from Sky Sports News. The same report noted how the Blaugrana would be prepared to offload the 24-year-old Brazilian for more than €30 million.
The report noted how Rafinha has been left out of Barca's pre-season tour of the U.S. while he gets over a knee problem. Significantly, Sky's report also referenced club president Josep Maria Bartomeu saying Rafinha wouldn't be sold.
However, the player himself was content to leave his future open, per a report from Spanish source Marca last month (h/t Alex Wood of the Daily Star): "My future is open to all possibilities and is in the hands of God. I am a Barcelona player and the most important thing is to recover from my injury, then we will see what will happen. What I can say is that there are no certainties, and that everything is open."
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
As to Arsenal's possible interest, Alec Shilton of The Sun says manager Arsene Wenger is not "put off" by Rafinha's injury issues. The South American makes an interesting target for the Gunners, since he can play full-back, on the wing or at the heart of midfield.
Like his brother, Bayern Munich star Thiago Alcantara, Rafinha is technically adept on the ball and would fit with Arsenal's possession-based style.
He is unlikely to get game time at Barca, where Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Denis Suarez are all ahead of him in midfield. Since the Camp Nou club signed Nelson Semedo from Benfica, they no longer need a right-back, although Barca have been heavily linked with Arsenal's Hector Bellerin this summer, with the Gunners have refusing to sell, per Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph.
Even so, it's unlikely Wenger would pay so much for a utility player, nor is it likely Rafinha would leave Barca's bench for a squad role at Arsenal after only making 14 starts in La Liga last season, per WhoScored.com.
