Arteta transfer target scores hattrick in 7-0 victory, Arsenal loanee could not handle him

Arsenal were linked with a lot of wingers before they signed Raheem Sterling on loan on transfer deadline day, including some of La Liga’s biggest talents.

Mikel Arteta returned to his old club to sign Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad, and was also strongly interested in Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams.

However, the Spaniard did not want to join, but he was not the only winger targeted from the Spanish top flight.

Barcelona pair Ferran Torres and Raphinha were both offered to Arsenal early on in the transfer window, with the Blaugrana struggling financially, but moves away failed to materialise, and both remained at the club and were given a new lease of life by new manager Hansi Flick.

Raphinha was of strong interest to Arsenal before he moved to Barcelona in 2022, but the Brazilian is now thriving after two fairly inconsistent years.

Arsenal target Raphinha scores hattrick for Barcelona

Barcelona are flying at the top of La Liga despite their financial uncertainty, and recorded a superb 7-0 victory over Real Valladolid at Estadi Montjuic, their temporary home ground.

Raphinha opened the scoring with a deft finish from his left foot into the bottom right corner, before adding Barcelona’s fourth in the second half, tapping in after a mess in the back line.

The 27-year-old completed his hattrick, running onto a through-ball from Lamine Yamal before poking the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Karl Hein, who is on loan from Arsenal.

The Brazilian winger was on fire, and even assisted Torres to score the seventh goal. He was present all over the pitch, and showed he has the attacking spark that Arsenal desired in attack before recruiting Sterling.

Arsenal loanee Karl Hein struggles in 7-0 defeat to Barcelona

Hein kept a clean sheet on his La Liga debut against Espanyol after joining Real Valladolid on loan from Arsenal, but it has been downhill from there for the Estonian goalkeeper.

The goalkeeper conceded three times against Real Madrid, before letting in seven against Barcelona. Not all of the goals were his fault, but his positioning and strength were questionable in at least two of the strikes.

Nevertheless, playing against top-class opposition will help Hein develop after a few years in the reserves at Arsenal, and he will hope such a humbling defeat will provide a big learning curve for the future.