January of 2019 was a frustrating period for Arsenal fans. Links with several players emerged as Unai Emery targeted a top 4 finish. He would miss out by a single point after rotation against Crystal Palace and Brighton cost them dearly ahead of the Europa League final.
The winter window saw just Denis Suarez arrive on loan from Barcelona. The Spaniard failed to start a single game, making si substitute appearances and missing 10 matches through a groin injury.
It was clear Arsenal had little-to-no financial weight and that loan deals were their only route to reinforcement. This ultimately led to the single temporary signing. Unai Emery confirmed to supporters the Gunners were unable to make any investment in full signings.
“We cannot sign anyone permanently,” Emery said back in 2019. “Only loan players this January.”
However, Arsenal could have signed Christopher Nkunku instead had his parent club at the time, PSG, brought in a replacement.
football.london understood that the Gunners were hopeful of signing the Frenchman. So much so that a loan deal with an option to buy at around £18 million would have been sanctioned had the French capital club succeeded in their own recruitment.
Yet, it was not to be and in July of the same year RB Leipzig came in to sign Nkunku for a figure believed to be in the region of €13 million. Nkunku scoring 2 goals and aiding with 1 assist in his final months with PSG lowering his price as his contract diminished.
A week after Leipzig’s acquisition, Arsenal confirmed the signing of Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid, a deal Unai Emery had prioritised instead of a permanent move. Funds would instead be focused on a goalscoring wide player, initially targeting Wilfried Zaha but instead signing Nicolas Pepe.
Kieran Tierney, William Saliba, Gabriel Martinelli and David Luiz were signed too.
Since, Nkunku has gone from strength to strength. The versatile attacking midfielder scored a hattrick in Leipzig’s 6-3 defeat to Manchester City but was involved in their journey to the 2020 semi-final in the elite continental competition - starting against his former side in the 3-0 loss.
In the Bundesliga, he has scored or assisted at a rate of greater than 1 in 2 in his 64 league appearances. Whilst Ceballos returned to Real Madrid after failing to secure an established place in the Arsenal first team.
Another target Arsenal will look back on with some regret they never secured when they had the chance.
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