Arsenal verdict on Dusan Vlahovic transfer comes too late

Arsenal used both of their striking options in the 0-0 draw with Burnley and neither player offered a glowing example of their abilities.

While Eddie Nketiah has been predominantly used as an impact substitute, which is not his remit, the fact remains that him and Alexandre Lacazette have a combined three goals in the Premier League this season.

When chances are at a premium as they were on Sunday, possessing someone with a killer instinct in front of goal is crucial. Lacazette spurned Arsenal’s best opportunity, just as he had done in the Carabao Cup against Liverpool, and what the club does between now and Monday’s transfer deadline grows increasingly decisive.

Dusan Vlahovic may appear like the answer, but not the solution.

Arsenal verdict on Dusan Vlahovic transfer comes too late as Gunners grow doubtful and move on to Alexander Isak and other targets

As per The Athletic, doubts are growing over whether or not the deal will come off. The move hit an impasse weeks ago, and even without the full details of the situation, from the outside looking in Vlahovic has felt like a pipe-dream signing.

Financially there is no obstacle, nor in regards to an agreement with Fiorentina, with the sticking point being the player and his representatives: Vlahovic wants to see the season out in Serie A and reassess his options then. Nobody can knock the player for doing so.

But it shouldn’t have taken this long to come to this verdict. While internally Arsenal must have believed there was a possibility, updates from Fiorentina regularly discuss the unwillingness from the Serbian and his representatives to broker a deal this month. The time to move on was yesterday.

In the case of many deals there are unexpected twists late in the window, but they tend to centre around a fee and a club-to-club agreement, which this is not. His interest lies elsewhere – Serie A, possible Manchester City move – and the sooner this page is turned the better.

Alexander Isak is one of the options being explored beyond Vlahovic, someone who it’s known has a release clause sitting at an eye-watering £76m. Understandably, Arsenal will seek to negotiate a lower fee, as going out and spending more than what it would have cost to sign their number one target will not sit well from an optics point of view.

If the club do fail to land a striker this month then the amount of time spent chasing a lost cause in Vlahovic could prove to be their downfall. There is only so much you can commend the ambition and aggression shown, as at some stage reality must sink in.

Never easy to sign someone in mid-season anyway, the fear lingers that they might have spent too long on this particular target.