Arsenal were offered the chance to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Mauro Icardi earlier this summer, but turned the move down.
Edu has spoken publicly in recent days about how picky he can be with transfer targets, and it seems Icardi was another player who was not deemed quite right for the Gunners.
This is according to Fabrizio Romano in his latest exclusive column for CaughtOffside, with Arsenal preferring to focus instead on signing Gabriel Jesus, who ended up joining from Manchester City.
Icardi has had a fine career with both PSG and former club Inter Milan, though he’s not always been the most consistent, and has had some issues off the pitch as well.
It’s not entirely clear why Arsenal rejected the chance to sign the Argentina international, but Romano suggests that Jesus was always the club’s priority in that position.
“Arsenal have had many opportunities that they have turned down, but this happens in all the top clubs every day,” Romano explained.
“For example, Mauro Icardi was an option offered to the club in recent months and it was decided not to proceed because they were looking for a different striker, Edu has always had Gabriel Jesus in mind as a priority.
“Sometimes the refusal is for technical reasons, other times for economic reasons.”