I think most Arsenal fans have by now given up on the possibility of the club securing Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic, but the Gonzalo Higuain saga has rumbled on and it seemed as if the club was in a good place to tempt the Real Madrid striker to come to the Premiership.
But if today’s Metro is to be believed it sounds like Arsenal have been mugged by the Old Lady – twice!
Arsenal are set to lose out on another striker to Juventus, with the Italian side closing on an instalment-based deal for Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain.
According to Italian paper Gazzetta dello Sport, Madrid are to allow Juve to pay for the striker in three or four instalments following a meeting between the two clubs.
The paper also says that almost everything is in place apart from the transfer fee. In what might give Arsenal fans a sliver of hope Madrid want €30m, but Juve have so far only offered €22m.
So what next for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal then? I wonder if it might be back to Premiership and that double raid on Swansea to land both Ashley Williams and Michu?
And I wonder how Gunners fans will feel? Both players are high quality with a proven track record in the Premiership. But are they the marquee signings that were promised by Ivan Gazidis?
I do wonder if Arsenal’s laid back approach (or dithering in the transfer market if you are being cruel) has cost them. It seems crazy that Juve will now have three world class strikers on their books, yet Arsenal are struggling to sign one. Maybe it is a reflection of how far the club’s stock has fallen in recent years that they can’t land quality signings.
Or maybe is is all about cold, hard cash. Juve is offering the players better deals and even with that huge chunk of cash in the bank, Arsenal don’t seem to want to match what the Italians are offering.