Arsenal suffer Dusan Vlahovic transfer hammer blow

Arsenal crashed out of the Carabao Cup on Thusday night and the alarming lack of depth in the squad was laid bare.

One forward stole the show in north London as Jota’s fine brace secured a 2-0 win for Liverpool, meanwhile Arsenal had precious few chances of their own. One in particular, that came shortly after half-time, had everyone dreaming of a new centre-forward.

Alexandre Lacazette blazed over the bar after a neat ball from Sambi, and fans couldn’t help but wonder whether a different striker, namely one Dusan Vlahovic, would have buried that in the back of the net.

He has been and remains the primary target for Arsenal this window, with the club trying to move heaven and earth to secure his signature from Fiorentina. As has been the issue all January, it’s not the club that needs convincing, it’s the player.

Arsenal suffer Dusan Vlahovic transfer hammer blow with Juventus submitting January offer for 21-year-old striker worth €70m

Vlahovic will be up there with the best strikers in world football. There is no doubt of that. And that means he’ll have the pick of Europe for his next destination. At present that is only Arsenal since they’re the club willing to meet the high financial demands in January, and the player would rather assess his options at the end of the season to see who is interested.

That is a totally fair position to hold, and entirely understandable, but general feeling is that he’s holding out for one of the major Italian sides. As per Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus have decided to act fast.

I Bianconeri have put together a package of their own worth €70m, one that includes Dejan Kulusevski, who Juventus value at €35m. The €6m-per-year salary satisfies Vlahovic who currently has the Turin club as his preferred destination.

Fiorentina don’t value Kulusevski at that price, but they are admirers of him and while talks are at an early stage there is room for negotiation that could see this deal pulled through. As it’s put, Juventus ‘won’t let this slide’ and face-to-face negotiations are being scheduled.

On the one hand, you can’t help but wonder where on earth a broke football club have conjured up this kind of money. There are unavoidable similarities to the Manuel Locatelli saga last summer, but even on that occasion the Italian side signed him on a two-year loan deal before their obligation to buy came into effect. It is hard to see where this money has come from.

Yet, if this is the club that Vlahovic wants, which he seems to, then in classic Serie A style there is always a way for the biggest clubs in the division to pinch the best talent from around the country and continue dominating the league, even if Juventus are miles off Inter and AC Milan at present.

However, if they do get involved and can meet Fiorentina’s demands, then it is curtains for Arsenal. Getting him in January when no other clubs showed their hand was their best, and likely only, shot. It’s evident Vlahovic prefers to stay in Italy and all this energy being expended trying to lure him to the Premier League is best directed elsewhere.

In the past Arsenal have resembled a donkey with a carrot in the transfer market. Don’t let this be another one. You’re not going to catch it no matter how close it may appear.