Report: Barcelona in talks with Arsenal for a swap deal involving Philippe Coutinho and Matteo Guendouzi

Barcelona and Arsenal are in talks for a potential swap deal involving midfielders Philippe Coutinho and Matteo Guendouzi according to Footmercato. Barcelona are keen on cutting their wage bill and want to offload Coutinho as he returns from his loan spell at Bayern Munich.

Guendouzi has been impressive for Arsenal since his move from Lorient, but the Frenchman has been out of favour since his spat with Neal Maupay against Brighton. The deal could prove to be beneficial for both parties with Coutinho looking to return to the Premier League.

A penny for Matteo Guendouzi’s thoughts tonight. He is squandering an opportunity to be part of what Arteta is building at Arsenal and it’s there for him if he wants it. Damning for him that he has not been missed one bit as Xhaka and Ceballos continue to build a partnership.

— Tom Marshall-Bailey (@TomMarshall_B) July 18, 2020

Barcelona will let Coutinho go with the right deal

Philippe Coutinho had an underwhelming season (by his standards) in the Bundesliga managing just 15 starts in the league campaign. The Bundesliga winners understandably opted against taking the 'option to buy' the Brazillian for a fee of around £100 million.

Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo recently suggested that the Blaugrana will allow the 28-year-old to leave if they get an offer in the region of £80 million. However, given that the upcoming transfer window will be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is unlikely that clubs will take such a huge risk for an underperforming player.

Matteo Guendouzi for Arsenal FC for Burnley FC in the Premier League

Matteo Guendouzi has made 34 appearances in all competitions this season for the London giants, however, there have been reports that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta doesn't like the 21-year-old's attitude. The former Arsenal and Everton player has frozen out the midfielder and has used the duo of Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos as his first-choice central midfield pairing.

Speaking after the infamous incident at Brighton, "When we show frustration we have to show it in the right way,” said the Spaniard. “I haven’t seen the images [of Guendouzi] or what happened, but we will talk about it if that is the case".

Matteo Guendouzi at home watching Arsenal do well without him pic.twitter.com/7NLHabf9N0

— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) July 18, 2020

With both players effectively frozen out of their respective teams, a swap deal would make sense for both sides. However, the transfer value of Guendouzi is unlikely to be as high as the quoted £80 million.

Barcelona have already signed Miralem Pjanić from Juventus for the upcoming season, with midfielder Arthur Melo moving the other way. There is a chance we might see a similar deal between Arsenal and Barcelona.