Martin Keown believes that it will be safer for Arsenal to land Willian from Chelsea than for the Gunners to land former Liverpool man, Philippe Coutinho.
Coutinho and Willian have both been linked with a move to Mikel Arteta’s team this summer as the Spaniard looks to add some star power to his new side.
Willian will be free to join the Gunners after he ran down his contract at Chelsea, but Coutinho has struggled for form and consistency since he left Liverpool for Barcelona in 2018.
The Catalans have given up on him ever making it as their player and they are looking to ship him out again this season after sending him on loan to Bayern Munich last summer.
Arsenal will want more creativity as they cannot get that from Mesut Ozil at the moment and that has made them pursue a deal for Coutinho and Willian.
Because of the financial restrictions brought about by covid19, the Gunners might not be able to sign both players and Keown thinks they should pick Willian if they have to choose one.
“Coutinho has been linked with virtually everybody and seems, if I am honest, a bit unsettled,” former Gunners defender Keown told The Mirror.
“I think Willian is a safer bet. He’s in the capital, he knows the Premier League very well and he’s a top performer. I think it’s a huge loss for Chelsea.”
