Arsenal technical director Edu has confirmed that his side held an interest in signing Raphinha from Leeds United, but the attacker only had his heart set on a move to Barcelona.
Raphinha hit 11 goals in the Premier League last season to help the Whites stave off relegation to the Championship and was always expected to depart Elland Road ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Arsenal were one of several Premier League sides - along with Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur - to have been credited with an interest in Raphinha during the early days of the summer transfer window.
At one stage, Chelsea were believed to have reached an agreement with Leeds over a fee, but Raphinha did not personally enter discussions with the Blues due to his desire to play for Barcelona.
The Brazil international was officially unveiled at Camp Nou earlier this month, but Edu has confirmed that he discussed Raphinha with agent and good friend Deco in the weeks prior to his Catalonia switch.
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"Raphinha was everywhere. It's fair that we had a conversation with Deco because he is his agent and I have a good relationship with him, we are friends," Edu told Sky Sports News.
"I just said to Deco 'Can you explain to me the situation of Raphinha?' and he was clear. He said 'Edu, we have a good relationship, I am not going to lie to you, his idea is to go to Barcelona. His dream is to go to Barcelona and we have been talking to Barcelona since a long time ago.'
"Okay, thank you very much. If something happens, just let me know because I can explore and understand the situation. If not, no problem."
Raphinha has made a fast start to life at Barcelona in pre-season, scoring in back-to-back friendly matches against Inter Miami and Real Madrid, with the latter proving to be the winner in El Clasico.
Arsenal have already bolstered their attack with the acquisition of Gabriel Jesus, who has also excelled in the exhibition period with four goals from as many games in the Gunners' pre-season.
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Jesus has joined Fabio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Matt Turner and Marquinhos as part of a significant summer outlay for Arsenal, but Edu has refused to shut the door on more signings in the coming weeks.
"We have to be prepared for every situation. We still have things to do, the transfer window is open. The most important thing is to be prepared for everything," Edu added.
"I will never sign a player that Mikel is not comfortable with. Never. It is not Mikel's signings, it is not Edu's signings, it is Arsenal's signings. People sometimes give the credit to me or Mikel, but the credit has to go to Arsenal."
The Gunners are expected to focus on outgoings for the remainder of the window, as the likes of Pablo Mari, Nicolas Pepe, Lucas Torreira, Hector Bellerin, Bernd Leno and Nuno Tavares continue to be linked with exits.
Arsenal will aim to finish pre-season with a 100% record when they welcome Sevilla to North London for the Emirates Cup on Saturday.
Ben Knapton
