At the beginning of the transfer window Arsenal had clear transfer targets and were pushing to sign three priorities in particular. But Gabriel Jesus was the only one the club managed to pull off.
Arsenal instead watched as Barcelona secured a £55million deal to sign Raphinha from Leeds, and Manchester United spent £56.7million to sign Lisandro Martinez from Ajax. Both were players that Mikel Arteta and Edu had made offers to sign but were not willing to go as high as their transfer market rivals.
Missing out on Martinez saw the club pivot quickly and Edu pulled off a Premier League coup with the acquisition of Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko. However, missing Raphinha has proven to be a trickier situation to address.
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Nicolas Pepe’s presence at the club continues to be an issue that forms a block to a potential arrival. That said, the club continue to be linked with wide players with the most recent being Yeremy Pino; an indication that the original plan has been scrapped.
The Villarreal starlet is very different to the former priority of Raphinha. However, Goal Espana claims that the Gunners’ interest is expected to firm up as time to the close of the window ticks down.
As mentioned, Pino’s characteristics differ from Raphinha's. For starters, he is six years younger and perceived as an investment in potential rather than immediate quality. Although, he has impressed enough in La Liga to become part of Luis Enrique’s Spain side and is in competition with Mikel Oyarzabal and Ansu Fati for a World Cup spot.
A right-winger mainly but interestingly, unlike Raphinha, he is right-footed and therefore not an inverted wide player. Both Pepe and Bukayo Saka drew parallels to the former Leeds winger and Raphinha would have fit immediately into the established attacking system.
Pino, however, would feature as a more traditional wide man who creates chances through crosses and cutbacks from the touchline. He has goals in him but lacks the rapid pace of his wide contemporaries, but is by no means slow.
The reality for Arsenal is that missing out on Raphinha left a lack of standout candidates for the window. In football.london's discussion with Spanish football expert Alvaro Romeo he drew comparisons to a Santi Cazorla and potential future transformation for Pino into central midfield.
Whilst Pino could provide strong competition and strength in depth in the wide area, his arrival would not rule out future investment in the same position. Pino then could be converted into another role or developed into a versatile option for many positions.
What lingers though is the evident frustration and serious impact missing out on a major target can have on Arsenal’s summer plans. How the window ends will be a telling revelation of the club’s preparedness, or lack of it, in the market at present.
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