Arsenal lose out on transfer target
Arsenal have lost the race to sign Ansu Fati from Barcelona to fellow Premier side Brighton.
The youngster is set to make a loan move to the Seagulls until the summer of 2024, and it comes as a huge boost for Roberto De Zerbi.
Fati was attracting interest from the likes of Premier League clubs such as Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal. While the Gunners were not serious about signing him, they were indeed monitoring his situation.
The North London outfit could have done the same deal and reaped the rewards for at least one year. The club has hardly done any loan signings in the recent past, and that is something that needs altering.
Ansu Fati to Brighton, here we go! Deal in place between #BHAFC and Barça as revealed earlier, verbal agreeement now done
◉ NO buy option clause.
◉ Loan deal until June 2024.
◉ Main part of salary covered.Travel booked on Thursday, Brighton want it signed ASAP. pic.twitter.com/1yHKYArJ9I
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 30, 2023
After spending an extortionate amount on transfers this summer, it is clear that any more incomings would have depended upon some big sales.
However, only Folarin Balogun was able to attract a huge fee for his services, thus handicapping the Gunners’ move for fresh faces.
But if the club had been more receptive to loan deals, they could have wrapped up the signing of Fati. His signing would have ensured the arrival of the winger that Mikel Arteta had been looking for for several windows.
In the scenario where Bukayo Saka faces an injury setback and Gabriel Martinelli contends with fatigue, Arsenal’s alternatives in the attacking department become paramount for maintaining the team’s offensive prowess. And do they have the options to maintain that offensive prowess?
Starting Reiss Nelson on the right and Leandro Trossard on the left comes to mind. You can even argue about starting Gabriel Jesus on the right and Kai Havertz on the left. But those two positions are not where we will get the best of them.
If Fati had been in the frame, he would have immediately given Arteta better options on his plate.
But now the ship has sailed and the less we talk about it the better.
However, this article was not about Arsenal losing out on a player who they were not seriously in for.
It was about tapping the benefits of the loan market, which Arsenal have overlooked several times in the past. I hope they learn their lesson and make some changes in their transfer strategy.
