It might look on the surface that should Arsenal fail to sign Raphinha that comparisons to the hunt for Dusan Vlahovic earlier this year are fair. However, this is simply not the case and criticism of the club for missing out on the Brazilian should not fall in line with the now Juventus striker.
Arsenal had serious interest in signing Dusan Vlahovic in the January transfer window. This is the first difference, with the shorter winter transfer period allowing less time to complete deals and therefore a chase of a profile takes up a greater proportion of the time available compared to the summer.
If Arsenal have pulled out of the race for Raphinha having baulked at the price being offered by Chelsea, then they have given themselves over two months to sort a replacement. One month if, like me, you’d expect the priority deals to be done before the start of the season.
READ MORE: Why Arsenal’s Raphinha transfer move is likely to fail with Chelsea his likely destination
The next and probably key difference is the bidding process. Arsenal spent the window in discussions with Vlahovic’s representatives and football.london understands that Edu was doing ‘everything possible’ to find an agreement with the player’s camp.
However, Vlahovic had only one destination in mind which was Juventus, who he ended up joining. Raphinha, however, reportedly made it clear to the club that he would be open to a switch to north London, despite his preference being Barcelona.
Hence why Arsenal made a first official offer that was rejected, before negotiations continued but without success. In the case of Vlahovic, without the openness from the player’s side, a bid made no sense from Arsenal.
This should give encouragement regarding another profile of Arsenal’s, Lisandro Martinez. The Gunners have since made their next official offer which Ajax are mulling over, which highlights a clear willingness from the player's side to move should the clubs agree on a deal.
Finally, the position of wide forward is nowhere near as high in the context of priorities for Arsenal. A striker was so crucial in January and subsequently in this summer window.
Arsenal have a plethora of options in wide roles, but the opportunity of Raphinha was something the club felt too good not to throw their hat into the ring. It will not be a surprise to see the Gunners refocus their attempts in defence and midfield should they miss out on the Brazilian.
It might be they now wait until later in the window for other opportunities and ensure the other priorities are sorted first. However, it is clear there are few or no similarities in this situation to when the club were unable to secure Dusan Vlahovic in January.
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