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Arsenal had a late approach for Barcelona defender Junior Firpo rejected during the January window.
The Gunners were in the market for a back-up for Kiernan Tierney, with the Scot the only natural left-back at the club. Sead Kolasinac was allowed to join Schalke on loan at the start of the season, whilst Ainsley Maitland-Niles has made a similar move to West Brom, albeit with the proviso that he plays in his preferred position in midfield.
In Tierney’s absence, Cedric Soares has deputed there in the Gunners last three games, but he is right-footed. Bukayo Saka can also be deployed there, but moving him back robs the team of one of their best attacking outlets.
24-year old Firpo has fallen out of favour at the Nou Camp, and has made only four appearances for them in the league this season. In the end, though, Barcelona decided to keep him to provide cover for the rest of the campaign.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.