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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lewis Pangratiou

Arsenal and Edu reminded why they made smart Dusan Vlahovic transfer choice by ex-Juventus star

Former Juventus midfielder Alessio Tacchinardi has inadvertently reminded Edu that he didn't make a transfer mistake with Dusan Vlahovic, amid the striker's recent struggles at Juventus.

For much of the January window, Gunners fans hoped that the club would be able to convince Serbia international Vlahovic to trade Fiorentina for north London. However, the 22-year-old always had his sights set on a switch to Juventus, with the Old Lady eventually forking out €80million (£67million) for his services.

Meanwhile, other than Vlahovic, Edu and Arsenal didn't feel as though the right striker was attainable in the January market. Criticism would've likely wavered had the Gunners not also allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave the club at the end of the window by mutual consent.

The decision to part ways with their former captain left Arsenal with just Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah as their more natural centre-forward options. Both have struggled in front of goal this season - stand-in skipper Lacazette has scored just four Premier League goals, whilst despite a good run of form of late, Nketiah has only scored twice in England's topflight.

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Having said that, Arsenal fans can take comfort from the fact that the Serbian's form has actually dropped since he moved to Turin. In fact, Tacchinardi has sent a timely reminder to Edu that he didn't commit an error by failing to sign Vlahovic.

Speaking to SportMediaset, via footballitalia, Tacchinardi discussed Vlahovic’s recent form and why he struggles to score as much for Juventus: “Simply because of Juventus’ way of playing, the team doesn’t put him in a position to score goals at the moment. Juventus don’t create chances and play badly, so the best striker in the league doesn’t get to shoot on goal.”

The 22-year-old scored 17 goals in 22 league appearances this season for Fiorentina. Since making the move to Turin, the Serbian striker has scored six goals in 12 league appearances, struggling to replicate his previous prolific form.

It was ultimately his decision to stay in Italy, but judging by Tacchinardi's words, it's perhaps one he's starting to regret.

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