Arsenal turned down chance to sign Liverpool star this summer

Arsenal were offered the chance to sign midfielder Arthur Melo from Juventus this summer before he joined Liverpool, but decided against it.

After it was revealed that the injury-prone Thomas Partey was set to miss a couple of games, and that his back-up Mohammad Elneny suffered long-term damage to his knee in Arsenal’s win against Fulham, the Gunners were eager to buy a midfielder in the last few days of the transfer window.

It was common knowledge that Arsenal attempted to sign Douglaz Luiz on deadline day, with their highest offer getting up to £25 million plus add-ons, but Villa rejected this and Arteta had to settle with the squad already at his disposal.

However, a recent report by The Athletic has revealed that the Gunners were offered the chance to sign Arthur Melo from Juventus.

Although the 26 year-old was a target for the North London side in January, they decided to turn down the opportunity to secure his signature this summer.

Instead, Melo signed for Liverpool on deadline day on a year long loan.

The signing of Melo was undoubtedly a crucial one, considering Liverpool’s injury woes in that area of the pitch.

Thiago has already missed the first portion of the season after picking up a hamstring issue against Fulham, and Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita have spent most the campaign on the treatment table with respective thigh and muscle problems.

To make matters worse for Klopp, it has recently been revealed that Henderson will miss the next three weeks after he limped off against Everton.

The German boss will be hoping his new midfield signing hits the ground running and can revive Liverpool’s lacklustre start to the season.