Mikel Arteta was reportedly telling confidants that Arsenal were close to signing Mason Mount, before the playmaker joined Manchester United.
The England international was subject to strong transfer interest last summer with Chelsea eager to offload the attacking midfielder as Arsenal joined the likes of United and Liverpool in the race to sign Mount.
With the Red Devils winning the battle in a £60m deal, Arsenal’s interest was reportedly stated at the time as not as intense as United’s or Liverpool’s, with the Gunners instead pursuing Kai Havertz.
Arsenal were once close to signing Mason Mount
Yet according to the Manchester Evening News, Arteta told close allies that the north London side were close to reaching an agreement to sign Mount from Chelsea.
The 25-year-old midfielder had shown plenty of promise in his first two years in the Blues first-team, yet form in recent seasons has dipped massively, with Mount hardly featuring for United due to injury.
Indeed, with Arsenal signing Havertz and getting real success out of the German international, it’s clear that the Gunners made the right call in not completing a deal to sign Mount.
And given Arsenal and United’s respective positions in the Premier League, it’s safe to say that the north London side made the right call in dropping their interest in Mount for a move for Havertz.
Arsenal did the right thing in signing Kai Havertz
Ask most Arsenal fans in the summer who they would prefer to sign out of Mount and Havertz, the majority of supporters would likely take the England international.
Yet football is a funny game with many surprising narrative arcs, and the same fans will now agree that Havertz is the ideal man for Arsenal based on form this season.
The 24-year-old has adapted to life in north London well, and Havertz’s recent performances have shown that the Gunners were right to take a risk on the Germany international rather than pursue a deal for Mount.
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