Arsenal reportedly seem to have decided they don’t want to agree to Juventus’ terms for a loan deal for Arthur Melo.
The Serie A giants were not keen on only loaning Arthur to Arsenal for six months, insisting instead on an 18-month deal, which the Gunners ultimately decided against, according to The Athletic.
While Arsenal may live to regret it if they cannot bring in a new midfielder this January, this looks for the moment like being the right call on someone who was a pretty underwhelming target anyway.
Arthur looked a huge prospect at Gremio earlier in his career, but there’s little from his time at Barcelona or Juventus to suggest that he’s ever going to be a truly elite performer in Europe.
Arsenal certainly need to strengthen in midfield, but there are better options out there that they can now focus on instead.
Birmingham Live have linked AFC with an interest in Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz, who could be more suitable, having shown what he can do in the Premier League, while Mikel Arteta will also know him well from their time together at Manchester City.
There’s also been talk of interest in Lyon’s Bruno Guimaraes, as per the Daily Mail, but Newcastle’s interest potentially makes that tricky.
Whatever happens, it’s time for Arsenal to be a bit more picky in the transfer market, as they’ve too often signed players who were easily available rather than really going all out for the kind of talent needed to genuinely improve the team.