Last summer, with reports suggesting that Arsenal were willing to invest £55 million in bringing Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to the Premier League, the Lazio star’s agent wasted little time in explaining why the Gunners were barking up the wrong tree.
“Honestly, Sergej and I think that these options are not for him,” former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman told Corriere dello Sport when quizzed about those Arsenal links.
“He wants to play Champions League football consistently in the future.”
Now, this is not to say Milinkovic-Savic would have arrived at the Emirates Stadium had Arsenal not been pipped to the top-four post by North London neighbours Tottenham Hotspur in May.
But, after being consigned to yet another season in the Europa League, Arsenal’s eventual fifth-place finish certainly robbed Mikel Arteta of an important bargaining chip in his pursuit of one of the continent’s finest attacking midfielders.
Could Arsenal finally sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio?
After eight years in Italy, it would take something special to convince Milinkovic-Savic to walk away from Lazio. But with Arsenal already planning to return for the Spain-born Serbia international in 2023 – Gazzetta dello Sport saying that the Gunners are currently at the front of the queue – the London giants appear to be in a far stronger position now than they were a few months ago.
Arsenal, after all, are not only sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table. There are also 11 points separating them from Manchester United in fifth. After just 14 games, it would take a collapse of epic proportions for Arsenal to miss out on a seat at Europe’s top table once again. Champions League football is highly likely to return to the Emirates for the first time in six years.
And do not underestimate the pulling power of Champions League football. Especially when trying to convince a player of Milinkovic-Savic’s quality to sign on the dotted line.
‘The same level as Kevin de Bruyne’
“Trust me, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is magic,” Lazio team-mate Ciro Immobile says of the 27-year-old playmaker. “He’s on the same level of Kevin de Bruyne.”
“I have coached many great players,” adds Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri. “But he is one of the best I’ve ever worked with.”
High praise indeed. Especially considering that Sarri has shared a dressing room with, among others, Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard and Lorenzo Insigne.
“His progress has been excellent. And he can take another step up in quality,” Sarri adds. “He used to lose the ball too cheaply, but now he plays with more determination.”
Biancocelesti president Claudio Lotito, meanwhile, insists that the Serbia international is a talent ‘worth £100 million’. Milinkovic-Savic’s contract situation – his current deal expires in 18 months and he has no intention of signing a new one – means Lotito may have no choice but to consider much lower bids.
Since joining Lazio all the way back in 2015, Milinkovic-Savic has played just seven Champions League games. A player of his outrageous ability deserves the loftiest of stages, especially as he closes in on his 28th birthday. Arsenal, this time around, may find themselves in a position capable of offering him exactly that.
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