HERE WE GO:Edu ‘contacts’ Barcelona to bring Arteta ‘obsession’ to Arsenal with cheeky cash-plus-player bid made

Raphinha has found himself either forced to play out of position or benched in recent times.

As a result, the 26-times capped Brazil international is one player the Catalonians are willing to move on this summer to help ease their financial burden and generate some much-needed transfer funds this summer.

A switch to Saudi Arabia has looked the most likely, though the player himself hardly appears in a rush to move, having yet to appoint a new agent following Deco’s departure from the role in order to take up his position as Barcelona’s sporting director.

However, Arsenal are ready to launch a fresh attempt for his services, with Arteta having done all in his power to first sign the winger two years back when it was clear he was free to leave Leeds.

At the time, Arsenal failed to agree terms with Leeds over a prospective deal but it could be second time lucky for the Gunners.

Arsenal transfers: Barcelona star now Arteta’s top target

Now reports in Spain claim Edu has been in contact with Deco to offer him a cash-plus-player bid, reported to be worth €35m (£30m) plus Eddie Nketiah, whom Arsenal hope to raise £40m by selling this summer.

Whether the combined package is enough to tempt Barca remains to be seen. However, with Barca in the market for another striker option to replace the underwhelming Vitor Roque, the offer of Nketiah could yet tempt them into negotiations.

Barca rate Raphinha at around the €80m (£67.8m) mark, so Arsenal won’t be too too far away in terms of matching that with Nketiah thrown into the equation.

Per reports in Spain, Arteta ‘has gone from rejecting the possible arrival of the Barca star to becoming obsessed with him, to the point of making him one of his priority targets for the next campaign’.

And their hopes of a deal are lifted by the fact that both new boss Hansi Flick and Deco are willing to say ‘farewell’ to the 27-year-old.

Arsenal have also been linked with the likes of Nico Williams, Kaoru Mitoma, Pedro Neto and Marcus Rashford this summer as they look to add a new dimension to their wings, though it seems Raphinha may have taken presidence if the latest reports are accurate.