Arsenal will compete with Aston Villa for the signature of Philippe Coutinho, according to Spanish reports (via Sport Witness). 

The lowdown

Villa loaned in Coutinho from FC Barcelona in January and negotiated an option to buy for £33million in the summer.

They will, however, still have to agree a contract with the player, who will reportedly need to take a pay cut to move to Villa Park permanently.

Villa have already opened talks with the Spanish giants, 90Min claim, presumably over the precise structure of the deal.

The latest

The report from Spain states that Coutinho's performances in claret and blue have 'aroused the interest' of other teams, and Arsenal are among them.

The Gunners have 'already been in contact' with the Brazilian's entourage to make their admiration known.

Coutinho is expected to make a decision on where he'll be playing his football in May.

The verdict

Coutinho has been fantastic for Villa so far, with Steven Gerrard hailing him as a 'joy to watch'.

He's scored four times and provided three assists in his 10 appearances, directly contributing to a goal every 111 minutes.

His average WhoScored rating of 7.28/10 is the highest in the Villa squad, ahead of the likes of John McGinn (7.17) and Matty Cash (6.98).

But who would he choose if it came down to Villa or Arsenal?

Well, Arsenal may be able to offer him a larger salary. Their current wage ceiling (£200,000 per week) is significantly larger than that of Villa (£120,000).

But, on the other hand, Coutinho knows that he's likely to have a starting role nailed down at Villa (Gerrard has selected him for the last nine).

And at Arsenal, he'd be competing with Martin Odegaard, currently 'in the form of his life' (in the words of Sky Sports' Micah Richards).

In other news, links to a Manchester United have emerged.