Arsenal dodged a bullet with £55m star Edu almost signed for Mikel Arteta

Arsenal sporting director Edu almost shelled out big money to sign Houssem Aouar back in 2020. But now, with the midfielder’s career taking an unexpected turn, the Gunners will be glad that the deal never came to fruition.

Aouar was previously one of Europe’s most coveted youngsters, helping Lyon to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019/20 and scoring nine goals in all competitions, making it the best individual season of his career.

Arsenal were so impressed that they reportedly tabled a final offer of £33.5million plus Matteo Guendouzi, but Lyon’s £55m valuation saw them pull the plug on a deal which would have united Aouar and Mikel Arteta.

The French-born star ended up sticking around for three more campaigns before joining Roma on a free transfer last summer. Aouar’s stint in the Italian capital was short-lived, and now, at the age of 26, he has landed in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ittihad.

The trajectory of Aouar’s career suggests that if Edu had been successful in luring him to the Emirates Stadium, he would not have been able to recoup much of the £55m it would have taken to sign him.

Aouar’s recent move to Al-Ittihad is believed to have netted Roma only £10m. Meanwhile, Arsenal are perfectly well-stocked with creative midfielders, with club captain Martin Odegaard establishing himself as one of the finest players in the Premier League.

Arteta is looking to add depth to his squad this summer after narrowly losing out on the league title for the second year in a row. The first point of business was David Raya’s loan move from Brentford being made permanent.

And that is set to be followed by bringing Italian international Riccardo Calafiori in from Bologna. Arteta is keeping his cards close to his chest regarding future transfer plans as he heads into another pre-season with the Gunners.

“We know there are certain positions that we want to improve and give the squad better resources, especially in terms of numbers where we are very short,” said the Spaniard. “We will try our best but the main thing is to focus on falling in love with the players we have and make them better.

“We’re certainly heading in the right direction and we are travelling at a really high speed with the things that we have transformed not only in the football side, but I think as a club as well. Now what is missing is to bring the big titles back home.”