Are Arsenal being played? Fifth signing slipping away

Arsenal and Chelsea seem to be the pawns in Raphinha's agent Deco's game to get his client a move to the Camp Nou this summer. Barcelona were seemingly out of the race for the Brazilian owing to their financial troubles, but have re-emerged as a potential destination for the Leeds United forward.

Until last week, the Gunners were leading the chase having had a bid rejected and a second one planned this week. Chelsea usurped their London rivals with a bid north of £55 million, which was accepted by Leeds leaving other interested clubs in their wake.

The Blues had made contact with Deco with a view to discuss personal terms with his client, but are yet to make any progress. Arsenal are monitoring the situation and could return with a fresh bid if the player is open to moving to the Emirates Stadium over Stamford Bridge.

However, according to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, Barcelona are very much alive in the race for Raphinha despite their financial struggles. Leeds are not expected to bring down their asking price, but Deco is hoping to negotiate a deal, which will see his client join the Catalan giants this summer.

"Barça is still VERY ALIVE with the option of RAPHINHA, the strength of the player and the agent, right now they mean that Barça has many options to incorporate the footballer, although Chelsea has an agreement with Leeds," Romero wrote.

Barcelona have already agreed personal terms with Raphinha, but the £60 million asking price is currently out of their reach. Despite Chelsea agreeing terms with Leeds, the final decision is expected to be with the player, whose agent was spotted outside Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Arsenal were already blamed for hiking up the price after Deco had informed Barcelona about getting the Raphinha deal done for £30 million. The Gunners are currently the third favourites behind the Catalan club and Chelsea, who have both agreed terms with the player and club respectively.

Barcelona are expected to get a cash injection in the coming weeks through the sale of their merchandising arm (BLM) and future TV rights. There is a feeling that if they can get close to Leeds' valuation, they will trump Chelsea and Arsenal to Raphinha's signature.