Arsenal's failed attempt to sign Vlahovic underlines club's limited appeal in the modern game
Stefan Bienkowski
- 24 Jan 2022 06:40 CST
- 5 min read
Arsenal fans have seen this movie one hundred times: star player gets linked with a move to the club, rumours pick up speed and momentum, then player makes it clear that they have no interest in a move to the London club.
Indeed, the past few weeks have been an extremely frustrating affair for Arsenal fans, as Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic has seemingly slipped through the club’s fingers.
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The latest reports in Italy not only suggest that the Serbian has no interest in a move to Arsenal, but could now instead make a summer move to Juventus instead.
However, while this transfer saga may seem like a fleeting annoyance to the club, it goes much further than that by perfectly underlining the limits to Arsenal’s appeal as the club is at this moment in time.
Arsenal reportedly face competition in their pursuit of Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic 👀
More ⤵️ #bbcfootball— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 24, 2022
Why Vlahovic has rejected Arsenal
It’s rather telling that rather than lose Vlahovic to a richer club, Arsenal will likely lose the striker to a club that won’t be able to pay him a vast amount of money more per week, but can instead promise a run at proper silverware each season.
While the London club may still be able to churn out a revenue and wage bill to rival most clubs in Europe, Arsenal’s inability to qualify for the Champions League has severely hindered their allure for elite players across the continent.
And it’s that very fact that has perhaps limited Arsenal’s major transfer dealings in major seasons to players that are either are smaller English clubs - such as Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale - or players from Europe that clearly need a new challenge or are interested in making the move to the Premier LEague, such as Martin Odegaard, Takehiro Tomiyasu or Albert Sambi Lokonga.
That’s not to say that Arsenal can’t sign good players. All of the aforementioned stars are excellent signings. But the London club may continue to sign the very top-tier talents like Vlahovic until they’re back in the Champions League or competing for league titles.
