“We Received A Request From Arsenal” – Chief Confirms Arsenal’s Striker Move

The summer transfer window is closed for another year but it’s now time to look back on those deals that didn’t go through and those that are being lined-up for the future. Today, Arsenal’s move for Gonzalo Higuain is confirmed…

Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed that Arsenal made an official move for Gonzalo Higuain before the striker joined Juventus in the summer, according to the Evening Standard.

Arsene Wenger was in the market for a top class striker during the summer transfer window and Higuain was one of several names to be linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.

A number of reports suggested that the boss was keen to land the Argentinean international after missing out when he left Real Madrid in 2013 with the Daily Star reporting in July that Higuain wanted to join Arsenal after holding talks with Wenger.

However, a move failed to materialise as the boss refused to meet Napoli’s asking price – which was set at the full value of his £75.3m buyout clause – and the 28-year-old eventually sealed a big-money move to Serie A champions Juventus.

Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has now confirmed that Arsenal did indeed make an official approach to sign Higuain in the summer before his move to Turin. He’s quoted by the Evening Standard as saying:

“We received a request from Arsenal. Personally I also received a request from Atletico Madrid but they didn’t put enough money on the table.

“We were not ready to sell him – for me Higuain was not for sale [Juventus would ultimately meet his buyout clause].

“One year earlier I offered another five year contract to Higuain and his brother. ‘I will offer to you x’. It was more money than what he is getting right now from Juventus.”

Higuain has already began to pay off his price-tag having scored seven goals in his nine appearances for Juve so far and no doubt many fans would have been pleased to see the South American come to Arsenal in the summer.

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However, we were never going to pay £75.3m for a 28-year-old and despite Wenger’s best efforts to land an established striker, we ended up taking a gamble on Lucas Perez having paid Deportivo La Coruna £17m for the Spaniard.