Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is in no doubt that one-time transfer target Philippe Coutinho poses a big threat to his side when they face Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners will be looking to bounce back from the midweek loss against Liverpool in this weekend's early kick-off as they will go into the penultimate month of the season in the final Champions League qualification spot provided they avoid defeat at Villa Park.
For Arsenal to get a positive result, they'll most likely need to keep Coutinho quiet. Since joining Villa on loan from Barcelona in the January transfer window, it's not taken long for the Brazilian to remind many of his productivity with four goals and three assists in nine Premier League appearances.
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During Arteta's playing days he would have come up against Coutinho when the attacking midfielder was at Liverpool and the Spaniard is well aware of how dangerous the 29-year-old can be on his day.
"One of them," Arteta replied when asked if Coutinho is Villa's dangerman. "Obviously the team does a lot of things when he's on the ball and he's in dangerous areas and he has contributed to a lot in their attacking phase, so obviously it's something we have to bear in mind.
"His ability to create goals and to create chances, unlock spaces when they don't exist and that's the quality he had when he was at Liverpool."
Interestingly, Coutinho could have been lining up for Arsenal against Villa on Saturday as in both transfer windows this season amid links with a move to the Emirates Stadium as Arteta looked to inject his squad with some extra creativity.
Of course, it was Steven Gerrard who ultimately won the race for the ex-Reds star, although the Gunners' interest in the playmaker has been revealed as well as the reason why his signature wasn't pursued.
"We looked at many different players with quality that he obviously had and in the end we went for a different option," Arteta said with the 'different option' being Martin Odegaard who joined permanently from Real Madrid for £30m last summer.
