Arsenal have been left "angry" following their failure to land Dusan Vlahovic as Mikel Arteta now faces a summer scramble to solve the club's striker conundrum.
It is no secret that the Gunners were keen to add some more firepower to their ranks in the January transfer window following the uncertainty surrounding a number of their forward options.
Shamed striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was offloaded to Barcelona following his well-documented fallout while Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah will be out of contract in the summer.
Despite this, Arteta failed to land any replacements last month, and Vlahovic's decision to snub Arsenal for Juventus has allegedly left the North London club enraged.
According to Lucas Torreira 's agent, Pablo Bentancur, the Gunners are furious after the Serbian's representatives sabotaged a potential deal between the Premier League side and Fiorentina.
Bentancur claims La Viola were keen to sell Vlahovic to Arsenal in January, in a deal that could have potentially seen Torreira turn his loan move with the Serie A side into a permanent one.
However, he insists Vlahovic and his agents pushed to go to Juventus instead.
“Now, Arsenal are a bit angry because they wanted Vlahovic," Bentancur told Sport890, as relayed by Fiorentina.it.
"Fiorentina wanted to sell him, but the agents said he had to go to Juventus: you always do what the player wants."
The Serbian striker, who netted 20 goals in 24 games in all competitions this campaign prior to his Turin transfer, joined the Old Lady last month in a £66million switch.
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Arsenal were believed to have made the 22-year-old their priority but have been forced to postpone their plans to acquire a new star striker until the summer after his snub.
The Gunners were believed to have held the advantage in the race for Vlahovic's signature as they looked to exploit Fiorentina's desire to sign Torreira permanently by including him as a makeweight.
According to Corriere Della Sera, Arsenal tabled an opening offer of £50m, as well as Torreira, in a bid to snap up the Serie A side's prized asset last month.
Despite Arsenal's ploy falling through, the Uruguayan's agent has revealed Fiorentina remain hopeful of striking a deal with the North London club over Torreira in the summer.
“Fiorentina logically want to buy him because he is playing very well. He has returned to having an impressive continuity and dynamism,” Bentancur added.
“Lucas is happy in Florence and I think they will take him, to date he is one of the most loved players by the fans.”
While it appears the tenacious midfielder could be heading for an Emirates exit on a permanent basis at the end of the season, Arsenal's failure to land Vlahovic has left them with work to do regarding incomings.
Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Real Sociedad's Alexander Isak are two names that have been heavily linked with a switch to North London, as both Lacazette and Nketiah appearing increasingly likely to depart.
According to Calciomercato, the Gunners have also turned their attentions to another Serie A striker, with Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez rumoured to have been added to Arteta's wish-list.
