The Gunners were keen on signing the Argentina international this summer.
Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has told the London Evening Standard that he did receive an official offer from Arsenal for striker Gonzalo Higuain before the star joined Juventus.
The Gunners were widely known to be in the hunt for a new striker this summer, and Argentina star Higuain was one of the names at the top of their shortlist.
They were ultimately met with frustration in their efforts to bring the 28-year-old to the Emirates Stadium, however, and it was Juventus who met the player’s contract buy-out clause.
Speaking to the Standard, De Laurentiis confirmed that Arsenal made a request to sign Higuain but suggested that he was set on not selling Napoli’s star man until Juve activated triggered a deal worth an eventual €90 million (around £80 million).
The Napoli chairman said: “We received a request from Arsenal. Personally I also received a request from Atletico Madrid but they didn’t put enough money on the table.
“We were not ready to sell him – for me Higuain was not for sale. One year earlier I offered another five year contract to Higuain and his brother. ‘I will offer to you x’. It was more money than what he is getting right now from Juventus.”
Arsenal fans will obviously have been disappointed to miss out on Higuain, as well as other targets reportedly including the lies of Alexandre Lacazette.
Instead of a big-name European striker they were left with Deportivo La Coruna frontman Lucas Perez, who has managed just three appearances in all competitions so far this season.
However, they have profited from Alexis Sanchez being moved back into a central position, with the Chilean having netted five times in nine games already this term.
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