Arsenal ready to sign superstar who REJECTED them two years ago, in sensational u-turn: report

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reacts during the English Premier League football match between Luton Town and Arsenal at Kenilworth Road in Luton, north of London on December 5, 2023.
(Image credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Arsenal may be about to complete a U-turn and sign a player who has previously rejected them publicly.

The Gunners toiled to a 2-0 win away at Wolverhampton Wanderers, with many of the players who started looking exhausted during a busy period in the calendar. Arsenal have struggled in April each year for the last three, with Mikel Arteta's lack of rotation criticised by some fans.

With the likes of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka completing another 90 minutes, the Basque boss's faith in some of his fringe stars has been questioned, prompting rumours that he could be about to spend big this summer – potentially returning to a former target. 

Bukayo Saka reacts after a missed chance in Arsenal's Premier League game at Fulham in December 2023.

Saka has played almost constantly this season (Image credit: Getty Images)

Italian outlet Tuttosport via JuveLive.it says that Arsenal are prepared to move for Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic as depth in attack. 

The north Londoners wanted Vlahovic in January 2022 as a replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang while the 24-year-old was still at Fiorentina. Their pursuit ended, however, when the forward moved to Serie A rivals, Juventus.

The Old Lady have struggled since, failing to qualify for the Champions League due to poor league position and a ban from UEFA, meaning that a move for Vlahovic could be back on the cards for the Gunners.

Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus Fc celebrates at the end of the Serie A football match between Ac Milan and Juventus Fc. Juventus Fc wins 1-0 over Ac Milan. (Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Arsenal could rekindle interest in Vlahovic (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo's view, Vlahovic would be a solid signing, with the Serbian star a similar profile to Kai Havertz and therefore a similar player to rotate with the German. The only issue may be that Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Vlahovic would all want to start at centre-forward – and as Arteta has proven of late, giving minutes to all of them might be difficult. 

The Juve star is valued at €65 million by Transfermarkt

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There could be a lot of flux in north London this summer. One star is set for a £60m depature, an attacking duo is being lined up and a defensive rock may well be added. Could Victor Osimhen be on the move, too?

Meanwhile, former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has shared what motivated Thierry Henry to complete the 2003/04 season unbeaten

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.