Arsenal did make a move to acquire Gonzalo Higuain before his £75.3million to Juventus but failed to meet Napoli's asking price, club chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed, reports the London Evening Standard.

Arsene Wenger had the Argentine international on his list of targets during the summer window but was reluctant to meet the release clause written into his contract at Napoli. They would ultimately miss out to Italian champions Juventus.

"We received a request from Arsenal," he told Standard Sport. "Personally I also received a request from Atletico Madrid but they didn't put enough money on the table.

"We were not ready to sell him – for me Higuain was not for sale [Juventus would ultimately meet his buyout clause].

"One year earlier I offered another five year contract to Higuain and his brother. 'I will offer to you x'. It was more money than what he is getting right now from Juventus."