Arsenal came out of the January window without signing a new striker despite being given the chance to sign Porto ace Mehdi Taremi.
The Gunners let Folarin Balogun go out on loan to Middlesbrough and allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to join Barcelona.
You would assume that Arsenal would bring in another striker to make up for those exits, but Edu didn’t strike a deal before the deadline.
That’s even despite the fact that Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are both out of contract this summer and look set to leave.
Arsenal were actually offered some options to bolster their attack though, with Mehdi Taremi allegedly proposed to the Gunners.
It was suggested that Taremi could have been an Arsenal signing in January but Edu and Mikel Arteta avoided a deal.
So how is Iranian star Taremi faring at Porto? Pretty incredibly.
Taremi recorded an assist in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Gil Vicente, just days after a goal and an assist in the 2-2 Europa League draw against Lazio.
That’s now four games in a row with an assist for Taremi, who has been in sensational form over the course of the last two months.
In Taremi’s last nine outings for Porto across all competitions, he has smashed six goals and five assists in a remarkable run of form.
That run started on December 30th, before the January window even opened. Taremi’s record since the window closed – and since Arsenal said no – is four assists and two goals in five games.
There may be question marks over whether 29-year-old Taremi would be a long-term solution for Arsenal, especially given their lofty ambitions.
Yet Taremi is now showing that he can affect the game with both goals and assists, which could have helped Arsenal in their Champions League pursuit.
The door on a move to Arsenal is surely closed now, but don’t be surprised if other Premier League clubs take a look after this superb purple patch.
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