Emery’s Arsenal could’ve signed ‘big talent’ for under £15m, he’s now worth £35m

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How many times have Arsenal fans been left frustrated with a missed transfer opportunity? From Arsene Wenger’s tales of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to Mikel Arteta’s recent missed chance of signing Houssem Aouar, we’ve seen it all.

Messi and Ronaldo have gone on to become two of the greatest players in the history of the game and it won’t be a surprise to see Aouar reach huge heights in the very near future as well.

Arsenal fans have a lot of regrets over players we missed and there’s one more to add to that list.

Back in January 2019, Unai Emery was on the market for a new right-back. Stephan Lichtsteiner didn’t turn out to be the player we thought he’d be, while Carl Jenkinson was not someone we could rely upon.

Hector Bellerin needed a quality backup and Arsenal were looking at Norwich City star Max Aarons. The Mirror claimed that we were rivalling Tottenham for his signature and the Canaries valued him at just £15 million.

If we were really keen, we could well have negotiated the price down by a couple of million, but we pulled out of the race, and the young Englishman has gone on to be a very good right-back for the Canaries.

A little over two years later, Aarons, labelled a ‘really big talent‘ by England Under-21s boss Aidy Boothroyd, is now being linked with clubs like Bayern Munich. It is only a matter of time before he leaves Carrow Road for a top club in Europe, and if Sky Sports are to be believed, he’s now worth a mammoth £35 million.

Missed opportunity for Arsenal

Hector Bellerin is still our number one and although he’s done reasonably well this season, many supporters feel that we need someone much better there.

Aarons could’ve definitely been that man at the Emirates but his huge price-tag now means that there’s no way we can get him, especially with clubs like Bayern Munich reportedly keen on his services.

Arsenal will have to consider signing another full-back in the summer. A left-back will be a priority, but it wouldn’t be too bad an idea if we bring in a right-back as well to upgrade on Bellerin and Cedric Soares.