Ex-Red Devil warns Arsenal will regret Raphinha transfer failure, but explains why Man Utd are targeting this alternative | OneFootball

Arsenal have been warned they could regret missing out on the signing of Leeds United winger Raphinha.

The Brazil international is wanted by Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona, but it’s not yet clear where he will end up as this saga surrounding his future drags on and on.

Arsenal don’t necessarily need a left footed wide-man due to the presence of Bukayo Saka, who already plays that role very well for Mikel Arteta’s side, but former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick believes there’s room in the Gunners’ squad for Raphinha as well.

“I think Arsenal will have been desperate to get Raphinha,” Chadwick told CaughtOffside. “I think it would have allowed them to rotate a bit, and make it hard for opposition defenders to pick them up.

Raphinha could be on his way to Chelsea, Arsenal or Barcelona

“You look at Raphinha, he’s similar to Bukayo Saka in that he’s comfortable on either flank, and Gabriel Martinelli too to an extent. I think it would keep the opposition guessing and pose challenges to opposition full-backs.

“If Arsenal were looking for a wide-player I think Raphinha fits the bill really well, and if they’d signed him to go alongside Gabriel Jesus that would have been massive for them.

“They had a good season, finishing 5th, but if they want to get into the top four they probably need more goals, so I think they’ll be looking now for another attacking player, but they’ll be really disappointed if they end up not signing Raphinha.”

Why Man United aren’t pursuing Raphinha transfer

As for Chadwick’s old club Man Utd, it seems Raphinha is somewhat surprisingly not on their radar this summer.

Instead, it seems that Antony from Erik ten Hag’s old club Ajax is one of the main names being looked at in that area of the pitch.

Chadwick thinks this makes sense, as Ten Hag would do well to bring in players he’s worked with before in order to give him the best possible start at Old Trafford.

Antony could link back up with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United

“Raphinha and Antony are both very gifted players, and both quite similar in how they play. They’re both exciting players who get the crowd on their feet. I think what Ten Hag’s doing is targeting players he knows, which I think is quite important. It could be really useful for him to have players on the pitch who’ve worked with him before and know what he wants them to do,” Chadwick said.

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“Raphinha has done it in the Premier League, and of course we haven’t seen Antony do that yet, but I think he’s got the ability to do that. If United do get him in, it’s an opportunity for Ten Hag to have potentially a few players, alongside Donny van de Beek, and Frenkie de Jong if they get him, who know his management and his tactics inside out.

“Obviously Raphinha looks like a player who’d fit the bill really well, but I can understand why Ten Hag might prefer Antony because of that connection at Ajax.”