Vlahovic was Arsenal’s top target going into the January transfer window and the Gunners had positive conversations with Fiorentina over agreeing on a deal.

 

The north London club were also prepared to match Fiorentina’s £58m asking price, but they never made any headway with the player.

 

 

Vlahovic is now expected to join Juventus, with the Italian giants in advanced negotiation with Fiorentina.

 

It has been claimed that the forward was central to Arteta’s plans for the future and the Arsenal manager was prepared to shape the team around his talent.

 

 

However, the Arsenal boss never got the chance to speak to the player and convince him to move to the Emirates.

 

Vlahovic and his agent completely blocked out the north London club and ignored all calls from Arsenal.

 

 

The Serbian was never interested in the move and Juventus remained his preferred choice all along.

 

Fiorentina were desperate to sell him to Arsenal or another Premier League club in order to avoid selling him to their arch-rivals Juventus.