Arthur looking for Juventus exit after failed Arsenal transfer

James Shearman

• Updated: 14 May 2022 03:33 CDT
• 3 min read

Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo's agent has revealed that he almost signed for Arsenal in the January transfer window.

The Gunners were extremely interested in bringing Arthur to north London but failed to reach an agreement with the Old Lady.

Juventus were willing to let the Brazilian go on an 18-month loan with an option to make the deal permanent for around €40 million (£34m).

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Mikel Arteta's side, however, were reluctant to agree to those terms, instead preferring to take the midfielder on a loan until the end of the ongoing season.

Arthur has found gametime difficult to come by this season, starting just 11 matches in Serie A, with a further nine cameos off the bench.

As such, he is now looking for a move away from Turin in the upcoming summer transfer window.

''In January he was close to leaving and joining Arsenal,'' his agent Federico Pastorello told La Repubblica.

''He is too important a player to be marginalised, he must also think about his situation with the national team.

''He was signed to play a different style of football, with Maurizio Sarri he would have played Jorginho, Allegri likes him but instead he wants to play with two more physical midfielders.

''It’s a tactical question, and I don’t make the technical choices. But it’s not in anyone’s interest to continue in this situation.''

Do Arsenal need Arthur?

Despite the recent form of Mohamed Elneny, who has delivered in Thomas Partey's absence, Arsenal could do with another central midfielder.

In fact, Arteta would benefit from two players in that position, one to partner Partey and the other to come in when either of the starting pair are injured.

While Arthur has not delivered an awful lot at Juventus, or Barcelona before that, he is clearly a quality player.

And, Arteta would be the perfect mentor for the 25-year-old as he enters the prime years of his career.

The Gunners should take not of Tottenham's January acquisitions of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juve, and make a similar move themselves if the price remains such an affordable one.