Report reveals two reasons why Arsenal snubbed chance to bring in explosive Tottenham January signing

A report has revealed why Arsenal decided to pass up the opportunity to sign Dejan Kulusevski ahead of north London rivals Tottenham in the January transfer window.

The 21-year-old winger was struggling to make a significant impact at Juventus in the first part of the campaign and was allowed to join Spurs on an 18-month loan with an option to buy.

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The Swede has certainly made his mark in the Premier League though. Indeed, Kulusevski has already scored three times and added six assists in 13 Premier League outings so far.

Tottenham are already set to trigger the purchase clause in their loan deal for Kulusevski. That would see the attacker join Antonio Conte’s side on a permanent deal for €30m (£24.8m).

But according to a report from The Athletic, the Arsenal were tracking Kulusevski’s progress and had considered him ‘a potential long-term target’.

The Emirates hierarchy decided not to rival Spurs for the player for two major reasons.

Arsenal felt they already had enough left-footed right-wingers in the squad, namely duo Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Pepe.

A fair enough reason, but in hindsight arguably one they could end up regretting.

England star Saka has come on leaps and bounds and in many eyes is the club’s best player. Club-record Pepe, meanwhile, continues to struggle and there has been talk he could be offloaded in