COMMENT: January 2022. For Arsenal, in the end it finished in failure. But a marker was laid. A precedent set. And this club's ambitions were ushered to a new level.
You had to look twice. You couldn't quite believe it. Arsenal? Stan Kroenke's Arsenal? They were actually in for the young Serb of Fiorentina? Dusan Vlahovic, the centre-forward rated at over 75m quid. Surely this was just the stuff of the mad calcio press...?
But no, Arsenal were serious. Mikel Arteta, the manager, and technical director Edu were convinced. And with Josh Kroenke fully on board, Arsenal went for it. Talks were held with both player and club. A bid of over €80m was tabled. For the first time in years, Arsenal were competing at the market's top end.
As we say, in the end the move came to nowt. Vlahovic choosing Juventus over the Gunners. But this show of ambition set a tone. A shift in mindset. Arsenal were no longer buying to tread water. They were seeking a leap in quality. Driven by the demands Arteta. Supported by Edu. Arsenal were transforming.
And that change of approach was maintained last summer as Arsenal burned off all competition for Gabriel Jesus. The relationships with Arteta and Edu helped, sure. But there was still a lot to navigate to secure Gabriel Jesus' arrival from Manchester City.
Like with Vlahovic, we're talking about an elite talent. A player coveted by Europe's biggest clubs. Yet, even with a five-year absence from the Champions League, he chose Arsenal. Better still, the Gunners chose to compete for him. Pre-Vlahovic such a prospect would've been dismissed. But the ambitions inside this boardroom had clearly changed.
Which is why you fancy such momentum will continue over the coming summer market. No matter their final placing, Arsenal remain a work in progress. Indeed, we'd argue they remain on the first rung of their development ladder. And the only way to push forward will be by maintaining this new found ambition.
When you step back. When you take the emotion out of this title race. The achievement of Arteta with this Arsenal team is something remarkable. As we stated last week, the collapse at the Etihad was a reality check. It hit this young team between the eyes. Pretenders is a harsh moniker, but on last week's evidence it does fit.
Which, as we say, makes the work of Arteta all the more impressive. Arsenal lack a spine. Not in character or mentality. But positionally. When you run through this team, the central core does appear wanting. No Vlahovic-type centre-forward for the midfield to target. With the lack of form and fitness of Thomas Partey, no consistent ball-winning general in midfield. And as Arteta was robbed of William Saliba at the business end of the campaign, Gabriel Magalhaes found himself lost at the back. That Arteta handed Jakub Kiwior a full debut against Chelsea at this stage of the season is proof enough of how short the squad is.
Centre-forward. Central midfield. Centre-half. You can mix and match names, but there's been no consistency running through the core of this team. The game-breakers have come from the outside. The flanks. Gabriel Martinelli. Bukayo Saka. Martin Odegaard. But in the clinches, as we saw at City, there's no big personality players ready to boss the centre of the pitch.
Declan Rice, the West Ham captain, can do that. As can Vlahovic, who remains of interest to Edu. And at the back, there's now an acceptance another centre-half must be added. This season. These recent transfer windows. These are no one-offs. For Arteta, this is about Arsenal fulfilling it's potential - both on the pitch and in the transfer market. It's an attitude that was lost in the final years of Arsene Wenger's time in charge. But now has been clearly invigorated by a manager who has long believed in what this club is capable of.
"The club have said they are going to be very ambitious in the market and have got the financial resources to get big players. I think it's about time. When you compare us to other top English clubs and the money they have paid, we are very far apart.
"The value of this club is the class and what it means is very difficult to match. Now, financially, they are very strong so maybe we will be more aggressive in the transfer market. Big signings create a good atmosphere and we need to do something because other teams are doing it and I think we will."
Those quotes were from Arteta. Not last week. Not even last year. But back in 2013, in Vietnam, as Wenger's squad touched down in Hanoi as part of a preseason tour.
This ambition. This belief. It's burned long inside Arsenal's manager. No matter where Arteta's team finishes this season, Arsenal have been transformed. That January transfer window of 2022 kicked it all off.
