Vlahovic, Arsenal and the fine line between ambition and fantasy

Arsenal have chased Dusan Vlahovic for a year and come unstuck. Should we praise the ambition or criticise the delusion?

Arsenal have been chasing their tail searching for a new striker. Dusan Vlahovic was the man they wanted; rumours of their interest in the Serbia international surfaced nearly a year ago. Arsenal were reported to be willing to meet Fiorentina’s €80million asking price, but Vlahovic has never been interested.

That should have been pretty clear through his agent’s refusal to pick up his phone – with the Champions League anthem as its ringtone – back in November, as Edu’s number appeared. Undeterred, Arsenal kept calling, entering further pointless negotiations with Fiorentina, right up until Vlahovic did the inevitable and agreed to join Juventus, a side in the European Cup.

Arsenal need a striker and, assuming the reports are accurate, have wasted a huge amount of time and effort chasing one that was never going to join them. If only they had some self-awareness.

“Historically, this club has targeted the best players in the world and the best players have always been attracted to Arsenal. That situation hasn’t changed. It is a big advantage for us.”

Admitting Arsenal are in fact shopping below the top level wouldn’t have been the best ploy to lure one of those best strikers in the world to the club; Mikel Arteta may have been playing games. If he wasn’t, he’s deluded.

The last players Arsenal signed that could be considered among ‘the best in the world’ were Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, who both joined in in the space of six months from summer 2017 to January 2018 for more than £100m combined. It could be argued Thomas Partey also belongs in that category, but even so, that would