Which Barcelona players could Arsenal swap Hector Bellerin for?

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

If Arsenal are forced into selling right-back Hector Bellerin to Barcelona this summer they could at least take advantage of the situation. 

According to CBS Sport, the Spaniard is ready to leave the club this summer and among the potential suitors are Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. 

However, with a contract with the Premier League side until 2023, Arsenal are under no obligations to sell the defender. 

Indeed, if Barcelona did want to sign Bellerin this summer they would either need to hand over a sizable sum of money or suggest a swap deal. And it is there that Arsenal could potentially make the most of this situation. 

While Barcelona are hardly the model club at the moment, they do still have a number of players that could solve a few problems at Arsenal next season. 

Ronald Araujo

Having signed for the Spanish club in 2018 after leaving Boston River in his native Uruguay, Ronald Araujo has quickly become one of the most exciting, young defenders at Barcelona this season. 

Ronald Koeman has struggled with his back line since a long-term injury to Gerard Pique earlier in the season, but where more senior players like Samuel Umtiti or Clement Lenglet have struggled for consistency, Araujo has shown promise and some fantastic talent. 

With David Luiz set to leave the club at the end of the season, Mikel Arteta could undoubtedly use another central defender this summer and in Araujo Arsenal may be able to snag a player with just as much promise as Bellerin initially showed when he arrived in London. 

Jean-Clair Todibo

Another central defender that Arsenal may have more luck enticing away from Barcelona this summer is Jean-Clair Todibo. Having joined the Spanish side from Toulouse in 2019, Todibo has been sent on one loan expedition after another, pitching up at Schalke, Benfica and now Nice in just two seasons. 

Indeed, it doesn’t seem as though there’s much love lost between the French defender and his employers, with Todibo announcing that he wanted  “to be here in the long term” when he was confirmed as a new Nice player in January. 

However, if Nice aren’t able to make the loan deal permanent then Todibo could be the perfect exchange for Bellerin in the summer window if Arsenal are willing to negotiate with Barcelona. 

Philippe Coutinho

If Arsenal really wanted to push the boat out and sign a player of equal or even better quality than Bellerin then they could do far worse than trying to entice Philippe Coutinho back to the Premier League. 

The Brazilian international hasn’t exactly been at his best for Barcelona this season and with a considerable wage to pay every week, the Catalan side may be more than willing to offload the 28-year-old forward to a willing Premier League club. 

Although Coutinho’s time at Barcelona hasn’t gone to plan, he has shown at Liverpool and Bayern Munich that he’s still an outstanding player and as an attacking midfielder that can play across the front three he may be exactly what Arteta’s squad needs next season.