Dusan Vlahovic broke the hearts of many Arsenal fans that were expecting him to join the Premier League club this January. Instead of agreeing to join Arsenal, the 22-year-old Serbian striker joined Juventus for €80 million.
Before now, Dusan Vlahovic was the major target of coach Mikel Arteta especially after the fallout between Arsenal and the club’s striker and former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The coach wanted to use the Serbian striker as the direct replacement for the out-of-favor Gabonese striker.
Recently, reports claimed that Arsenal and Dusan Vlahovic’s former club, Fiorentina have agreed on a deal worth £66.6 million for the services of the Serbian striker.
At that point, reports in the United Kingdom claimed that the ball was in the court of Vlahovic to decide his next move. Amid that, a report claimed that Vlahovic wished to join a club that is playing in the UEFA Champions League.
Even though Arsenal are not playing in any European competition, coach Mikel Arteta claimed that all the players he has spoken to are willing to join the club due to the club’s history. The coach’s comment encouraged the club’s fans that Vlahovic was heading to the Emirates Stadium.
When fans thought talks between Arsenal and Fiorentina were advancing, a report emerged that Juventus were seriously interested in the Serbian fast-rising star.
On Friday, January 28, 2022, Dusan Vlahovic sealed his move to the Italian Serie A giants and ended the speculation involving him and Arsenal.
Juventus offered the 22-year-old Serbian striker a deal that would see him remain at the club until June 30, 2026. Coincidentally, Vlahovic signed the deal and was unveiled on his 22nd birthday.
Il primo compleanno ⚪️⚫️
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) January 28, 2022
❤️ #DV7 pic.twitter.com/vaOnNliRd3
Juventus gave the Serbian striker the iconic shirt number seven which was used by Cristiano Ronaldo during his three years spell at the Italian club.
𝗤𝗨𝗜, 𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗢, #𝗗𝗩𝟳! 🔥✅
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) January 28, 2022
After he made the move from Fiorentina to Juventus, Vlahovic showered praises on Juventus and stressed that he would always be available for the club.
“Juventus represents pride, tradition, family. Juventus are always there until the last minute, they never give up,” he said.
“The team always comes first, I am at the disposal of the coach and my teammates, who I will try to help in the best way possible.
“We always want more, and we want to improve in the future. Today is my birthday, which is really wonderful, a special day for me.
“This is one of the happiest birthdays I’ve experienced so far. I want to make Juventus proud. We will always fight for all goals, as they say, fino all fine!”
Buonanotte ⚪️⚫️
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) January 28, 2022
Con il saluto di Dušan Vlahović ❤️ pic.twitter.com/DqZuGu4CHh
Dusan Vlahovic attracted the attention of Arsenal and Juventus after he scored 21 goals and provided 2 assists in 40 games in the 2020-2021 season. Before he left Fiorentina in the ongoing 2021-2022 season, the Serbian youngster scored 20 goals and provided 5 assists in 24 games.
Now that Arsenal have missed the opportunity of having a prolific striker like Vlahovic at their club this January, reports claimed that coach Arteta has drawn up an alternative striker he might attempt to go for.
Reports in the UK said the top alternatives for the Spanish tactician are Real Sociedad’s Alexander Isak and Everton forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The fact that the January transfer window closes on Monday, January 31, 2022, might make it difficult to see any of the aforementioned players at the Emirates Stadium this January.
