Arsenal reportedly rejected a move for both Mathys Tel and Evan Ferguson but were open to signing Alvaro Morata during the recent January transfer window.
The Gunners had been tipped to sign a new attacker throughout the month after Bukayo Saka went down with a hamstring problem before the winter window opened and Gabriel Jesus did his ACL in the first week of January.
However, as the clock ticked to 11pm on Deadline Day, there was no sign of any new signings on their way to Arsenal, with the Gunners having to make do and mend with the options already at their disposal.
That’s despite reported interest in Tel and Ferguson, who both secured loan moves in the latter stages of the window to West Ham United from Brighton and Tottenham from Bayern Munich respectively.
According to The Athletic though, Arsenal’s interest in the duo was never deemed too serious, with Tel’s inexperience deemed a concern for the Premier League hopefuls, who were keen to only add players that would make an immediate impact.
Ferguson is believed to have been held in higher regard behind closed doors at the Emirates Stadium, but given Arsenal have already registered two players on loan from Premier League clubs this season (Neto from Bournemouth and Raheem Sterling from Chelsea), there were no more slots available.
A permanent move would’ve negated that, but Arsenal had concerns about Ferguson’s fitness and recent dip in form.
That didn’t stop them from going after a player at the opposite end of his career, with the north Londoners having reportedly received positive signs from Morata’s camp about a potential January move.
The only thing that is said to have stopped them from swooping in and securing a move for the former Chelsea man is the fact Galatasaray did so sooner.
In the end, it proved to be an uneventful transfer window for Arsenal, who also are said to have missed out on signing Manchester City starlet Vitor Reis, despite having led the way for his signature.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk