Arsenal were linked with Caglar Soyuncu in 2018, but missed out.
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Arsenal slumped to another defeat on Saturday afternoon, as they were beaten 2-0 away at Leicester City thanks to goals from Jamie Vardy and James Maddison.
It’s now just two wins in 10 Premier League games for Unai Emery, who is coming under increasing pressure from disgruntled fans who want to see change.
What made Saturday’s defeat even worse was that Arsenal couldn’t penetrate a Leicester defence led by defender Caglar Soyuncu – a player the Gunners actually wanted in 2018.
Soyuncu, then with German side Freiburg, publicly admitted to The Mirror that he wanted to join Arsenal, even turning down other offers to hold out for a move to North London.
Football.London then suggested that Arsenal did like Soyuncu, but with Emery rating Calum Chambers highly, a deal wasn’t a priority. Just weeks later, Leicester secured his signature for £19million (Sky Sports).
Now, in his first season, it didn’t look like much of a miss. Soyuncu started just four Premier League games, but having stepped up to replace Harry Maguire, he’s now becoming a star.
Soyuncu is strong, committed and defensively solid, but he’s also quicker and more comfortable in possession than often given credit for, and at just 23, he looks set to have a huge future in the Premier League.
Conversely, Arsenal are rolling out veterans David Luiz and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who are unpredictable at best. That Arsenal paid a similar fee for Sokratis as Leicester got Soyuncu for is a damning indictment of Arsenal’s big mistake here.
On Saturday, they had to see it in front of their very eyes, as Soyuncu helped keep Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang quiet. Arsenal have missed out on a number of players over the years, but they’ll really be hurting about Soyuncu now.
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