Arsenal were offered the chance to sign Porto striker Mehdi Taremi in January but didn’t bite on a deal to bring him to North London.
That’s according to a report from CBS Sports, who claim that Taremi was one of a number of players offered to Arsenal in January.
Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic was another, but Arsenal ultimately chose not to sign either of the two goalscorers.
Porto’s stance late in the window may have changed anyway; they sold winger Luis Diaz to Liverpool and may not have wanted to lose another key attacking player.
Taremi, 29, has hit 12 goals and seven assists for Porto in what has been a strong campaign for the Iranian.
Last term, Taremi was outstanding with 16 goals and 11 assists, dominating Portuguese football as Porto’s attacking spearhead.
A penalty box finisher with a fine touch, Taremi is a fairly physical striker at 6ft 2in tall and could have given Arsenal another option.
The Gunners let Folarin Balogun go on loan to Middlesbrough and have allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to join Barcelona.
Arsenal weren’t able to sign a striker in January but seemingly felt they were better off going without Taremi than signing him.
Taremi hit the headlines last season, executing an inch-perfect overhead kick to score for Porto against Chelsea.
The goal was so good that Taremi made it to the final voting for the Puskas Award – only to lose out to ex-Tottenham and Erik Lamela.
Having been through some fairly uninspiring short loans in the past – such as Kim Kallstrom and Denis Suarez – Arsenal seemingly felt Taremi wouldn’t have improved Mikel Arteta’s squad.
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