Arsenal: Really? We’re losing out to Borussia Monchengladbach?

Arsenal are set to lose Alexis Claude-Maurice to Borussia Monchengladbach and all that I can manage to say it… really? This is where we’re at now?

After having such a positive history with Lorient, between Laurent Koscielny and Matteo Guendouzi, Arsenal‘s pursuit of Alexis Claude-Maurice looked like a deal that only needed for the fee to be met to be completed. A 21-year-old that we could hand first-team opportunities to – how can we do better?

Well, apparently Borussia Monchengladbach can do better, because the young Frenchman has declared his desire to go to the Bundesliga side rather than come to the Emirates.

“I want to join Gladbach,” he said. “They are a club that focus on young players, there is a good structure, they are playing in the Europa League. I like their project and it suits me.”

That’s charming. Really charming. But here’s what I don’t get. Arsenal are a club currently focused on young players. It looks like Unai Emery is setting up a good structure with which to give youth a chance to carry the team forward.

And we’re playing in the Europa League.

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So what was it about our offer that made him go to Monchengladbach instead? Don’t get me wrong, they’re a great club, no doubt. I mean… they gave us Granit Xhaka. But not even Monchengladbach fans are going to claim that their club is bigger than Arsenal, and we were able to offer the exact same set-up, or at least incredibly close to.

I’m asking questions into the void, knowing I won’t get an answer, but it feels like mismanagement of the move. We were widely touted as the frontrunners, we have former Lorient players who have found tremendous success at the Emirates, as well as one set up to find tremendous success, and Claude-Maurice doesn’t want to walk straight into an absolute winger void at the pinnacle of the footballing world in favor of a move to the Bundesliga.

Maybe it was one of those “I don’t want to take too big of a career step this early,” but that’s not what it sounds like at all. This is a club rebuilding and in a very similar position as Borussia Monchengladbach, yet with a much higher ceiling, and we can’t even win that transfer war.

I’m just confused. I feel like annoyance and frustration is coming soon, but let me just stew in my confusion for a bit.