It’s fair to say this week won’t go down as a stellar one in the history of Arsenal Football Club.
A drab and deserved defeat to Liverpool in the EFL Cup semi-finals followed by a goalless stalemate at home to bottom-of-the-table Burnley.
Then there was the news that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would be left at home as the club jetted off to Dubai for a warm weather training camp.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s first choice transfer target, Dusan Vlahovic, is heading to Juventus despite Fiorentina agreeing to sell arguably Europe’s most coveted centre-forward to Mikel Arteta to the tune of £62 million.
And then, to cap it all off, Newcastle have pipped their top-flight rivals to the post for Bruno Guimaraes, closing in on a £30 million deal for the Brazil international.
Much to the frustration of many an Arsenal supporter.
So yeah, not a great couple of days for a club who entered 2022 with Champions League ambitions.
Reports claiming that the highly-rated Danilo has agreed a new contract at Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras, then, feels distinctly like the putrid icing on top of an already unpleasant cake.
After Vlahovic and Guimaraes, have Arsenal missed out on another target?
According to Globo Esporte, the tough-tackling 20-year-old – who models his game on N’Golo Kante – has extended his current deal, tying himself to the Brazilian giants until 2026.
This latest in a long line of blows comes just a fortnight after Arsenal submitted a £21 million bid for Danilo (Esportes).
“He has evolved a lot in these two years,” explains Thiago Sales, the midfielder’s agent.
Sales adds that Watford have also shown an interest, while West Ham are reportedly keen on Danilo too.
“Danilo is calm. He tries to listen, focus on his work and we hope he does well in the Club World Cup. He will not leave Palmeiras now. We are very happy and Palmeiras are too.”
So that’s Vlahovic gone, Guimaraes going and Danilo now seemingly out of reach too.
In another unwelcome twist of fate, Arthur Cabral – the free-scoring Basel frontman who also has admirers in the Gunners camp – will replace Vlahovic at Fiorentina.
With just four days remaining until the transfer window closes, Arsenal supporters are still awaiting their first signing of the month. Patience, as it always seems to be at the Emirates Stadium, is wearing thin.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Pablo Mari and Sead Kolasinac have departed already with no new faces arriving to take their place.
It’s difficult to escape the feeling that this Arsenal squad is weaker now than it was on December 31st.
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