Arsenal’s need for a striker in the January window saw them express a late interest in the much-travelled Spaniard Alvaro Morata.
In the end there was a lack of consensus among the club hierarchy as to whether he would be a good fit at the Emirates, and instead he left AC Milan for a loan move to Turkey and Galatasaray.
It also meant that the Gunners finished the window without bolstering their forward options, something that has clearly angered manager Mikel Arteta, although publicly he has toed the party line and explained the rationale behind the decision.
He has stated that the club did not want to just bring in a body, and that whoever was recruited had to make sense economically – both in terms of transfer fee and wages – and also fit with the group and team dynamic.
Although Morata captained Spain to Euro success last summer, his itinerant career may also have raised some issues. Although he has played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including Real Madrid and Juventus twice, he has never stayed at any of them long, and his goalscoring record is patchy.
