After making an action-packed start to the summer transfer window, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta now finds himself in danger of seeing a number of key deals derailed.
The Gunners have added United States stopper Matt Turner, highly-rated Brazilian winger Marquinhos and £34million man Fabio Vieira to their ranks already this summer while top target Gabriel Jesus is on the cusp of joining Arteta's evolving squad. The north London club are by no means finished on the transfer front, either, with more potential signings in the pipeline.
Arsenal have also made well-documented attempts to lure Leeds winger Raphinha and versatile Ajax star Lisandro Martinez to the Emirates this summer. However, with both deals hitting the buffers in recent days, Arteta now finds himself at risk of failing to fulfil his transfer promise from earlier in the year.
Back in January, amid Arsenal's unsuccessful pursuit of Serbian sensation Dusan Vlahovic, the Spaniard adamantly asserted that the Gunners could still compete with Europe's elite when it came to signing the world's most sought-after stars. At the time, Arteta insisted whenever he spoke to one of the club's targets, they were willing to join his Arsenal revolution.
“Historically this club has always been targeting the best players in the world and the best players in the world are always interested to come here," Arteta declared amid question marks over whether Arsenal still possessed the 'pulling power' they once held in abundance. "I can say that situation hasn’t changed.
“Any time I have spoken to any player, they were so willing to come. I haven’t faced any other situation and that’s one of our biggest powers, our capacity to get the attention of people to come and join our club; it’s something that is a big advantage for us.”
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With Arsenal on the verge of completing a mightily impressive coup for four-time Premier League winner Jesus, Arteta's ambitious assertion looked to be coming true. Despite being unable to offer the lure of Champions League football next season, the Gunners managed to strike a £45m agreement for one of the Premier League's most prolific poachers.
But any assumption that Arsenal have returned to being the force they once were in the transfer market have since suffered a setback. Multiple setbacks, in fact. The Gunners no longer appear to be in the driving seat for Raphinha following Chelsea's efforts to outbid their London rivals, while the player's desire to complete a dream move to Barcelona has cast further doubt that he will end up an Arsenal player this summer. And that's not all.
The club's hopes of landing Ajax defender-come-midfielder Martinez have also suffered a significant blow. According to Goal, Manchester United have upped their efforts to sign the Argentine ace as they look to exploit the Gunners transfer approach.
The north Londoners are thought to have seen two bids knocked back for the 24-year-old, with the second understood to be in the region of £34m. With Ajax's resolve having been tested by the Gunners, United are believed to have held positive talks with Martinez, who is thought to be keen on reuniting with his old boss Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
What started out as an exhilarating transfer window for Arsenal now appears in danger of being ground to a halt - Jesus' imminent arrival aside. After initially proving his 'pulling power' declaration to be true, Arteta is now at risk of seeing his bold transfer declaration backfire.
It seems the Gunners are struggling to convince their top targets to choose them over rival suitors, and the club's status as top dogs in the transfer market may indeed be a thing of the past.
