Arteta insists he was 'solution' in Aubameyang's Arsenal exit
Real Madrid's stubborn pursuit of Kylian Mbappe may have played a part in Arsenal missing out on a deal for ex-Fiorentina hotshot Dusan Vlahovic, according to reports.
After netting 20 times in just 24 games this season, the Gunners were prepared to shell out a huge sum to lure Vlahovic to the Premier League in January.
But the 22-year-old instead elected to remain in Italy and ended up sealing a £66million switch to Juventus in the final hours of the winter transfer window.
And it's now been revealed that both Arsenal and Juventus were faced with the prospect of being gazumped at the eleventh hour by Real Madrid in the race to snap up Vlahovic's signature.
According to Cadena Ser, Fiorentina made contact with the Spanish giants as soon as Juventus had tabled a bid for Vlahovic in a bid to secure a bigger financial package for the hitman.
Real Madrid passed on Dusan Vlahovic due to their interest in Kylian Mbappe (Image: GETTY)
Although Fiorentina's move to drive up Vlahovic's price didn't pay off, Real's inclusion in the picture is unlikely to have helped Arsenal's prospects of striking a deal for the goalscoring prodigy.
Real were reportedly 'tempted' at the prospect of striking a deal for one of Europe's most prolific attackers - but they stuck to their guns and will instead continue to wait for Mbappe.
The report goes on to outline that Real had no interest in rotating four attacking options with Mbappe's impending arrival and the excellent form of Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema.
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Arsenal are aiming to challenge for trophies again (Image: EXPRESS)
Ultimately, it was Juventus who benefited from that stance after they enticed Vlahovic to snub the riches of the Premier League.
And the Serbian star has certainly hit the ground running at the Allianz Arena.
Vlahovic took just 13 minutes to bag his maiden goal for the Old Lady after opening the scoring in Juve's 2-0 win over Verona on his debut last weekend.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta has hinted that Arsenal have big summer transfer plans after missing out on Vlahovic.
The Gunners search for an elite striker to replace former club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will resume at the end of the season.
“We did what we believed was the right thing to do," said the Arsenal chief when he was quizzed on the club's quiet January. "The squad composition and contracts were catching up, be fair with players who haven’t had a lot
of minutes.
“We had a clear plan of what we can do but then it has to be doable. Edu and his team have done a great job.
“We are very clear we only want the best people and the best players at this club. When we are in a rush and the reasons to get a player on board are not the right ones we didn’t do it.”