Why Arsenal are struggling to get their transfer targets | OneFootball

Things have not been going well for Mikel Arteta and Edu this month as they seem to be thwarted at every turn when they go after Arsenal’s top targets.

This morning, reports are saying the Dusan Vlahovic is definitely on his way to Juventus, while Bruno Guimaraes has apparently had a bid from Newcastle United accepted and he will looking for a big money deal from the new moneybags as they desperately attempt to avoid relegation.

The Gunners have already allowed Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Folarin Balogun, Pablo Mari and Sead Kolasinac, from the first team squad, to leave and a host of second-stringers have gone on loan or left.

So, the outgoings have been impressive with still more to come I should think, but as for getting any of our main targets arriving, it is not looking very positive at all. Arteta told us that “the market is difficult” after the Burnley game, and the loss of Vlahovic and Guimaraes proves that, but according to the ex-Man United midfielder Luke Chadwick believes there is another reason.

“This is the hard thing for Arsenal, they’re in an in-between stage, flirting with the top four but not certain to get into the Champions League,” Chadwick told CaughtOffside.

“You look at the top players in Europe and it does make it hard to attract them. It was a great coup when they got Aubameyang though that’s obviously turned a bit sour now.

“They obviously need a striker, a number 9 who guarantees 25 goals a season. But it would be a big leap of faith for a player to back themselves to go there and score the goals to get them back in the Champions League, or will they think they don’t want to risk playing in the Europa League next season?”

To be fair, any Arsenal target looking at our games in January, would be worried that Arsenal may not even make it to the Europa League, never mind the Champions League, so I can see everyone saying “Let’s wait and see in the summer”.

The problem is that if we don’t get a few top players in, our chances of reaching Europe are increasingly diminished…