After an expectedly poor January transfer window from Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta, many fans have now written off our title challenge in the 2024/25 Premier League campaign and are instead looking for Champions League joy.
It also means that Arsenal fans are already looking to what we hope is a far more ambitious set of plans for the summer transfer window as we look to finally improve the team, and plug those gaping holes in the first team set up that has again cost us the silverware that we have been crying out for in the last few seasons.
With a number of players linked with a potential move to the club during the last few months, one name that has featured pretty regularly on the speculation rumour mill has been Serie A and Juventus striker, Dusan Vlahovic, but the latest pivot to our reported interest in him will be of concern for a number of fans who will again think that we are trying to achieve success on a shoe string instead of truly pushing the boat out to get us over that line and into first place in the top flight table.
For those fans who like a flutter on their football and follow the news closely to help them with their football betting, they will know that the 25 year old, 32 capped Serbian international, has been in talks with the Old Lady about extending his contract with them, but as of yet no agreement has been found on the terms that he wants.
However, rather than claiming Arsenal will redouble their efforts now to try and tempt him to the Emirates Stadium, we are said to quite bizarrely happy for him to enter the final 12 months of his existing deal this summer, and then attempt to strike a bargain for him the following January.
This makes absolutely no sense on any viable level, as it is already pretty well known that he has a number of suitors across the European leagues so if we try and play the pre-contract game to try and drive down his price, put quite simply before we even make an eventual offer he would have long committed himself to one of the other major clubs in the sport and we would have missed out….again.
If, as it is also being claimed in the media, that with negotiations not going as smoothly as first hoped for Vlahovic Juventus are now turning their attentions to Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Muani, the summer would be the time to strike if we do have a real interest in him, and again, we would likely be one of a number of clubs battling it out for his services anyway, so his contractual situation there would be more advantageous to our negotiating position.
Particularly if claims that they would do a deal for around the £30 million mark prove to be true, as we should easily be able to meet his wage demands and his career so far would suggest that he would have a very telling impact at Premier League level.
He may have made all the difference to our chances this year, we will have to see if he makes a difference next season.
Image Source: unsplash.com
