Arsenal fell victim to Dusan Vlahovic’s goal to repeat Kylian Mbappe’s free-agent strategy, and it is a failure that Edu must learn from in the future.
The Gunners were in desperate need of a striker in the January transfer window after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s omission, and they identified Vlahovic as the main target.
Despite reported attempts to get the striker, the 21-year-old ended up joining Serie A side Juventus instead, with that always being his preferred destination.
Due to Arsenal’s lack of backup options, they are new left considerably weak in the striker position as they had only chased Vlahovic, even though he was just using the north London side to get a better deal.
Fiorentina president said via Fabrizio Romano: “Vlahovic deal was full of dishonest and lairs.
We opened talks with English clubs." he added.
"Every time a new offer came up, Vlahovic and his agents said no. Their plan was the same as Mbappe with PSG: leave as a free agent and make money.”
Arsenal fans were left disappointed when it was announced that the Fiorentina striker had chosen Juventus, even though this was the players’ plan all along, as the agent used Arsenal to gain more money.
This certainly should be a hard lesson learned for Edu in future transfer for the most promising stars in world football.
Real Madrid are currently experiencing the same situation with Mbappe, as his Paris Saint-Germain contract is set to expire, but it seems the La Liga giants have got the deal under control.
With Arsenal not having played Champions League football in half a decade, it is hard to attract the best players to improve the team.
Edu shouldn’t be criticised for his ambitious attempt to try and sign Vlahoivc, but for future reference, he must ensure that there are backup plans for when the initial ambitious target doesn’t sign as it can leave Arsenal in a dire situation as they find themselves in currently.
Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are the only strikers at the club but the two players have only recorded three open play goals between them in the Premier League which has caused a lot of unrest amongst the fan base.
Due to the failure to sign Vlahovic, it means that Arsenal’s Champions League hopes have taken a massive blow, and they have an uphill task to overthrow rivals Tottenham and Manchester United for dream fourth position.
Make sure you have subscribed to The Arsenal Way and the Fan Brands team along with plenty of your football.london favourites will be producing daily Arsenal content for you to enjoy including match reactions, podcasts, football fun and interviews.
