Arsenal are prioritising a deal for a central defender despite Philippe Coutinho’s representatives contacting the club to see whether they would be interested in signing the Brazilian on loan for the upcoming season.
Coutinho is open to leaving Barcelona this summer after a stop-start first 18 months at the club and Giuliano Bertolucci and Kia Joorabchian are looking at potential suitors and have approached Arsenal to see whether they are interested.
However, the Premier League club have told them that at the moment their focus is on securing a central defender. The club captain, Laurent Koscielny, joined Bordeaux for a fee of €5mn (4.6mn) yesterday and the manager, Unai Emery, is looking to strengthen his defence.
Emery is likely to start the Premier League season with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Calum Chambers as a centre-back pairing at Newcastle on Sunday. He also has Shkodran Mustafi available although Arsenal are open to offers for the World Cup winner. Rob Holding, meanwhile, is continuing his recovery from a long-term injury.
Arsenal are interested in RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano and Juventus’ Daniele Rugani but are not close to agreeing a fee for either player. The Bundesliga club want £70mn for the 20-year-old Frenchman while Juventus have quoted Arsenal £50mn for the 25-year-old Italian international.
There has been no contact between Arsenal and Barcelona regarding a potential loan deal for Coutinho at this point but both sides are keeping their options open with only 48 hours left of the transfer window.


Koscielny departs 
Arsenal for Bordeaux
Meanwhile, Koscielny agreed a reported three-year deal with Ligue 1 club Bordeaux. The French international, 33, made clear his desire for a move last month when he refused to travel on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the United States. His standoff with the club reportedly came after the Gunners rejected his request to be released from the final year of his contract.
Koscielny was understood to be keen to move back to his homeland after nine seasons with Arsenal, having joined the Gunners in 2010 from Lorient.
“The club is delighted to be able to count on a player with such experience at the highest level,” Bordeaux said in a statement, after paying a fee believed to be worth between five and six million euros for Koscielny.  He played 353 games for Arsenal, winning the FA Cup three times, and was named club captain at the start of last season following the retirement of Per Mertesacker. 
“We thank Laurent for his contribution to the club and wish him all the best for the future,” Arsenal said in a statement.
Koscielny made just 17 league appearances last term after sitting out the first half of the campaign as he recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon. 
The centre-back missed France’s 2018 World Cup triumph after sustaining the injury just before coach Didier Deschamps named his squad. Koscielny earned the last of his 51 France caps in March 2018. He said in October he had intended to retire from international duty after the tournament in Russia.