Arsenal: Paulo Dybala the star that will never be reached

Arsenal reportedly made a tentative approach for Paulo Dybala, before being warded off by a rather hefty transfer fee of £124 million. While the Juventus striker would be a remarkable addition, he is, unfortunately, the star that will never be reached.

The club-record £52 million addition of Alexandre Lacazette is undoubtedly a significant one. Ever since the departure of Robin van Persie in 2012, Arsenal have lacked a sure-fire striker, a prolific goalscorer, someone who is capable of guaranteeing 20-plus goals a season. Well, now they have one.

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But given the other targets that Arsene Wenger is continuing to pursue, he is seemingly not happy with the options that he currently has available to him. Perhaps that is in response to the possible departure of Alexis Sanchez, who scored 24 league goals, racked up another 10 assists and has just one year remaining on his current contract. Perhaps it is simply Wenger wanting to finally commit to a level of investment that significantly improves his attacking weapons.

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In the aftermath of securing the signature of Lacazette, Wenger has been heavily pursuing Thomas Lemar, with Monaco rejecting three separate offers, links have incessantly surfaced regarding fellow Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe, while Riyad Mahrez has persisted to be a possible option to explore, with the Leicester City star revealing that he would like to leave in a statement shortly after the close of the season.

However, none of those deals are especially close to completion and progress has stalled. As such, other names are beginning to rise to the forefront of the rumour mill, the most exciting of which is Juventus striker Paulo Dybala.

The Argentinian would be the perfect player to either replace Sanchez or compliment him as a free-roaming false nine. His spatial awareness is excellent, with a great understanding of how and when to drift into pockets between the defence and midfield. His touch is exquisite, rarely losing control of the ball when dribbling, and he is deceptively quick, with a sharp turning circle, able to break in and out of movements with a low centre of gravity and dynamic agility.

However, per the same report, Juventus have demanded £124 million for his services, a figure that Arsenal and Wenger have reportedly baulked at. Whether the Gunners did truly ever consider pursuing Dybala or not, we’ll never know. And even if they did, whether they were then put off by the fee that Juventus apparently demanded, we’ll also never know.

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But nonetheless, Dybala is the type of player that Arsenal should be pursuing. He is a player of remarkable talent and calibre, a star that would revolutionise Wenger’s attack. Unfortunately, he is also unreachable, and that is a sad fact that we just have to accept.