Arsenal tried multiple times to seal the transfer of Ilkay Gundogan before he finally completed his move from Manchester City to Barcelona, as officially announced yesterday.
The experienced German midfielder went out on a real high at Man City, scoring a stunning brace in the FA Cup final win over Manchester United to help Pep Guardiola’s side win the treble, but he’ll now be leaving English football for La Liga next season.
According to Fabrizio Romano, writing in today’s edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Arsenal really pushed to keep Gundogan in the Premier League, and the 32-year-old also had similar approaches from clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Still, it seems Gundogan simply wouldn’t change his mind once Barcelona were in the race for him, with the former Borussia Dortmund man clearly keen on this dream move to one of the biggest and most historic names in European football.
“Arsenal also asked for Ilkay Gundogan multiple times, same for Saudi clubs but at the end the player decided to pick his favourite club since he was a kid, with a move to Barcelona officially announced yesterday,” Romano explained.
“Once Barca were in the equation, it was almost impossible to change his mind. PSG were never into the race, despite reports, while Saudi clubs did try, but for Gundogan it was not a matter of money.”
Arsenal would surely have done well to add Gundogan to their midfield, but Romano has also provided updates on the Gunners’ pursuit of Declan Rice and Romeo Lavia.