The Premier League is just weeks away to kick off and clubs including Arsenal are in the midst of the transfer window.
Fans get too excited about the transfer window as they do when the regular season kicks off. However, the summer or the winter transfer is a phase where clubs look to bolster their squad to compete well.
This phase includes many players getting linked to clubs sometimes potentially sparking off a rumor even if not true. Moreover, during this period, few clubs end up building title-winning teams while others have nothing to brag about.
This season, the Gunners have created a lot of noise in the transfer market having signed three players already. While many of their summer additions may have worked in the past, there are few notable players who made it to Arsenal’s transfer collapses.
Here are four players in Arsenal’s memorable transfer collapses
1. Yaya Toure
The ex-Ivorian international was set to go on a trial at the Emirates to impress Arsene Wenger. In fact, the club had an agreement with the player to join the North London side.
However, due to the player having to wait for a European passport, things got complicated. The player endured a long wait and made his move to Metalurh Donetsk.
His impressive performances saw him rise up the ranks and move to bigger clubs. He joined Olympiacos and later had brief stints with Monaco and Barcelona before being known as a ‘great’ at Manchester City.
2. Luis Suarez
Suarez was already evolving as a legend during his stint with Liverpool. It was after the 12-13 campaign that Arsenal were interested in the striker and made a bid for him.
A £40,000,001 bid was made by the club under the impression that they matched the Uruguayan’s release clause. However, the deal eventually did not go through.
Arsene Wenger in his book wrote about the deal in detail and how the deal fell apart. He wrote-
“[Suarez’s] agent claimed that there was a clause: with an offer above £40million, Liverpool would be obliged to let the player go,”
“But thanks to an indiscretion within Liverpool, I found out that his clause never existed. To check this was true, we offered £40,000,001.”
Suarez stayed with the Reds before making his big move to FC Barcelona in 2014.
3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The immensely confident Ibrahimovic was a subject of interest for the Gunners. After his breakthrough season with Malmo in 2000, Wenger wanted to get a better look at his gameplay and invited him for trials.
The gaffer clearly wasn’t aware of who he was dealing with. Zlatan told in an interview-
“It was a fantastic moment for me. Arsenal had a great team then and here was an Arsenal shirt made just for me. “So, then I waited for him to convince me that I should join Arsenal. But he didn’t even try. He never actually made me a serious offer, it was more, ‘I want to see how good you are, what kind of player you are. Have a trial’.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘No way, Zlatan doesn’t do auditions’.
I thought ‘You either know me or you don’t and if you don’t know me you can’t really want me.”
4. Dusan Vlahovic
Although Vlahovic is still in his formative years, this one was the most recent transfer collapse Arsenal endured. The ex-Fiorentina striker was almost on the verge of joining the Gunners last season.
Moreover, the North London side was ready to pay the £62m valuations set by his former club. But Vlahovic didn’t seem too pleased with Arteta’s project and decided to reject the idea of joining them.
He also wanted to join a club that played Champions League football. Here is where Juventus stepped in and hijacked the deal.
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