Arsenal would “have to pay more than they want” to secure the signing of Barcelona winger Raphinha for Mikel Arteta’s squad at the Emirates Stadium this month, as the wide man does not want to leave his current club, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs has told GiveMeSport.

The Gunners are looking for a forward addition ahead of the remaining few weeks of the January transfer window.

Arsenal transfer news – Raphinha

According to reports, Arsenal are monitoring the situation of Raphinha, after the Gunners missed out on the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk and Ukraine winger Mykhaylo Mudryk to Chelsea last weekend.

The Premier League leaders are looking to add the former Leeds United star to their squad with Arteta light on attacking numbers following Gabriel Jesus’ knee injury suffered on World Cup duty, which is likely to keep the Brazilian out of action for a significant proportion of the second half of the season.

However, Mundo Deportivo has claimed that Raphinha’s entourage has made it clear that he wishes to remain in Barcelona, having only arrived at the Nou Camp for £55m last summer.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has recently told GiveMeSport that the Gunners have been offered many Mudryk alternatives, and Jacobs now believes that the 26-year-old is a name that is being “spoken about at the moment.”

What has Jacobs said about Arsenal and Raphinha?

When speaking about other targets to Mudryk for Arsenal, Jacobs told GiveMeSport: “So, then we look at who replacements might be and of course, Raphinha is the one that is being spoken about at the moment.

“My understanding is that Raphinha doesn't want to leave Barcelona which is understandable because he only joined last summer. In addition to that, Arsenal would have to pay more than they want to progress that deal.”

Would Raphinha be a good signing for Arsenal?

Raphinha – who has previously been dubbed as “frightening” by WhoScored’s Martin Laurence – has struggled to transfer his Premier League form to La Liga this season, having hit the back of the net three times whilst providing five assists in 23 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

However, the 16-cap Brazil international enjoyed a fantastic two-season spell with Leeds in the Premier League having scored 17 goals alongside producing 12 assists in 65 appearances, according to the same stats provider.

The wide man is also prepared to run the hard yards for his side, having ranked in the top 2% of forwards across Europe’s big five leagues as well as the Champions League and Europa League for blocks (1.62) and 15% for interceptions per 90 minutes (0.81) over the last 365 days, as per FBref.

Therefore, despite his recent struggles in La Liga, Arsenal may feel that Raphinha’s addition could fit the bill they’re looking for ahead of the second half of the campaign, with the winger having proven his worth in the Premier League during his time at Elland Road.

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