Arsenal’s awful 2022 kills Vlahovic chances

Carlo Garganese

• 23 Jan 2022 16:54 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal’s terrible start to 2022 continued on Sunday as they could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to rock-bottom Burnley.

The Gunners dominated the game in terms of possession, territory and attempts on goal, but they lacked creativity and punch in the final third.

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There is one player who could have provided that much-needed punch at the Emirates; Dusan Vlahovic.

The Serbian hitman scored 33 Serie A goals in 2021, only Robert Lewandowski scored more league goals last year in Europe’s top 10 championships. This season, he is the top scorer in Serie A.

The Fiorentina striker is Arsenal’s top transfer target for January.

FootballTransfers understands that Fiorentina want to sell Vlahovic this month. His contract expires in 2023 and he is unwilling to pen a new deal. The relationship between Vlahovic’s camp and Fiorentina has completely broken down, and the Italian club know that his transfer value will plummet if he stays until the summer.

Arsenal’s chances of signing Vlahovic this month were already considered slim. Vlahovic, who is also wanted by Tottenham and Juventus, would prefer to wait until the summer before deciding his next club.

He would rather join a club who can compete for major trophies and who are regular competitors in the Champions League.

Arsenal, for a number of years now, have not ticked the box in any of these categories. This is why Vlahovic’s entourage were until a few months ago refusing to even listen to offers from Arsenal

However, Arsenal’s brilliant end to 2021 changed some perceptions around the club. A five-match winning run built around talented youngsters like Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith-Rowe and Martin Odegaard suddenly portrayed Arsenal as a club that were going places.

A top-four spot, or even more, looked very much on the cards.

Would Vlahovic change his mind about Arsenal being a serious football team that were worthy of him? Maybe.

But Arsenal’s form has nosedived at exactly the wrong time in their attempts to attract Vlahovic.

In 2022, they have yet to win a game. They have drawn two, lost three and scored just twice – with no goals in their last three. They were humiliatingly dumped out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest and couldn’t beat or score against a Burnley team that has been decimated by COVID and barely played in the last two months.

It is no surprise now that most journalists believe that Arsenal are out of the race to sign Vlahovic in January. Juventus are considered favourites in the summer, despite their own difficult season.

Had Arsenal’s great form continued into 2022, perhaps things could have been different.