The agent of Dusan Vlahovic, Darko Ristic, has revealed why his client decided to join Juventus, despite receiving offers from Arsenal.
It's understood that Vlahovic is in the closing stages of a £62million switch from Fiorentina, and underwent a medical on Friday morning in north Italy.
The Gunners have been strongly linked with Vlahovic all month as Mikel Arteta seeks a long-term replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But their efforts have been in vein as it emerged that he was in Turin on Friday for a medical after the 21-year-old agreed personal terms with Juventus.
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And Vlahovic's agent issued a simple response when asked why he was joining The Old Lady.
He told reporters: "Juventus are always Juventus…"
The Gunners have been left frustrated with Vlahovic's camp after the latest developments, ESPN claim.
Arsenal believe their interest was used as 'a smokescreen' to negotiate his proposed move to Juventus.
The move has also prompted an angry reaction from Fiorentina fans, with the two clubs sharing a fierce, long-standing rivalry.
Players who opt to leave Fiorentina to join Juventus are labelled as ‘traitors’ by the club; such as local star Federico Bernardeschi who exited the Viola to join Juve.
A vulgar banner outside Fiorentina’s facilities at the time of the deal read: 'A chi non piacerebbe sputarti in faccia... Bernardeschi gobbo di merda' – ‘who would not want to spit on your face, you s****y hunchback’. (in Italy, a hunchback is a term with the connotation of being lucky).
Bernardeschi was the target of unsavoury fan chants upon his return to Florence in a Serie A game with Juventus that February, where he netted a free-kick against his former club.
Giorgio Chiellini, Juan Cuadrado and Federicho Chiesa are other members of the current Juve squad who joined the club directly from Fiorentina – further fuelling the rivalry.
Police opened an investigation on Tuesday.
"The Digos [police Special Branch] of Florence is working on the case and carrying out thorough investigations to try and find the authors of the banners," a police spokesperson told Reuters.
"The Digos has also implemented all possible preventative measures to avoid the repetition of similar episodes."
