This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Arsenal could have had both Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk on the books at the Emirates, according to The Athletic.
What’s the word?
Arsenal were in hot pursuit of both players before they made their big-money moves and it was reported that the Gunners’ were mighty close to signing both the Frenchman and the Dutchman.
Griezmann, 28, made the money-spinning move to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid in the summer after his buyout clause of €120m (£103.7m) was paid by the Catalan giants. Meanwhile, van Dijk, who joined Southampton from Celtic in 2015, has forged a fearsome reputation since coming to England, moving to Liverpool for £75m in 2017 and winning the Champions League last season.
During a Q&A session with The Athletic, David Ornstein revealed the details about how close the Gunners came to signing Griezmann.
“I was told that if Arsenal had qualified for the Champions League in 2017 they would have signed Antoine Griezmann,” Ornstein said. “Missing out for the first time in 20 years ended their hopes on that one.”
He added: “How about Van Dijk from Celtic before he joined Southampton,” Ornstein went on. “Arsenal were on his case, too!”
Arsenal missed out on Champions League qualification to Liverpool by just one point that season.
What would have been
Both players have gone on to become some of the very best in football and they would have been critical components in Arsene Wenger’s team.
Griezmann scored 15 goals in 37 games during his last season at the Wanda Metropolitano and has already scored three goals this term.
Liverpool’s van Dijk is now the name on everyone’s lips when it comes to defenders. The Dutchman has gone on to win the Champions League and the Super Cup with the Reds, as well as multiple individual awards such as the UEFA Player of the Year, the Champions League Defender of the Year and the PFA Player of the Year.
In the video below, we look at where it all went wrong for Arsenal’s former ‘saviour’, Mesut Ozil…
His world-class attributes are echoed by Gunners’ legend Paul Merson who believes he is the best defender on the planet, per Sky Sports.
The 28-year-old started all 38 Premier League games last season and accumulated 21 clean sheets and an average of 5.2 clearances per game.
Arsenal will always reflect on the two missed opportunities and wonder what might have been, as will the supporters.
