Philippe Coutinho was reportedly open to a move to Arsenal but Mikel Arteta opted against signing the Brazilian who ended up joining Aston Villa.
The Barcelona midfielder penned a loan deal at Villa Park until the end of the season as he reunited with his former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard.
There was speculation Coutinho would return to Anfield or make the switch to the Gunners, but neither came to fruition.
It appears that a move to the latter was a possibility, however, given Arsenal's longstanding interest in the playmaker.
Arteta's men were keen on signing Coutinho in the summer but were worried about his injury history as he went under the knife on his knee in April, according to Le10 Sport.
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Arsenal made Martin Odegaard's loan move permanent instead, but as Coutinho remained at the Nou Camp for the start of the season, there was a chance the Gunners would come calling again, especially since he had regained full fitness.
And Sport claims the players’ representatives were waiting for Arsenal to make their approach for the former Bayern Munich loanee earlier this week, but no offer arrived as he joined Villa instead.
Arteta has been a long-term admirer of the former Inter Milan youngster, but for whatever reason decided against tabling a deal.
It remains to be seen if Coutinho can return to the form he showed at Liverpool before his disappointing spell at Barca.
But Gerrard is confident that he can revive his career during his short stint in the Midlands.
He said: "Sixty-three caps for Brazil, a serial winner, played for Barcelona, was incredible at Liverpool.
"I can understand why a lot of supporters up and down the country are speaking about him.
"I don’t think you get a nickname as a Magician if you’re not a special footballer. He’s someone I’ve got an incredible amount of respect for.
"He won two league titles for Barcelona, he won two Copa del Reys. If you go and have a look at his Wiki page, you’ll see a serial winner wherever he’s been."
Villa have struggled to fill the void left by Jack Grealish who joined Manchester City in the summer in a £100million deal.
Emi Buendia, another Arsenal target, was signed as his replacement under former boss Dean Smith but has failed to produce that creative spark in the final third.
And former Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor explained feels the ex-Norwich City playmaker goes missing far too often in important games.
He told Football Insider: “Buendia goes quiet after 55 minutes. You want to see him for 90 minutes. Can a player be in a game for 90 minutes? With Buendia, you never see him in a game for 90 minutes. He goes missing.
“Steven Gerrard will want to get more out of him. Yes, you got a great assist but can you go and get a goal? Can you go and get another assist? Can you be in a game for more than 50 minutes? That’s what he’s got to do next.
“I still want more. I can see how talented he is but I want to see more. I’m sure the manager will too.”
