After the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2018, Arsenal were stacked with a host of quality forwards.
Alexandre Lacazette signed for a £50m fee six months before the Gabonese international, which arguably left the Gunners with two world-class strikers in the squad.
And these two were backed up by the potential of Eddie Nketiah who was performing excellently for the Hale End academy.
However, Stephy Mavididi was another highly-rated striker in the Gunners’ ranks ahead of the 2018/19 season but was sold due to the strength-in-depth, and Arsenal could end up regretting the decision.
The former England youth international was sold to Serie A champions Juventus for which, according to transfermarkt, was a £1.35 million fee.
The youngster had impressive loan spells at Charlton Athletic and Preston North End which poised him for an opportunity in Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side but the signing of Aubameyang prevented this.
Speaking to French outlet L’Echo de la Mosson about his transfer away from north London, Mavididi explained his departure from the club: “They (Arsenal) said they appreciated me, that I was a good player but that they were looking for two or three world-class players at my position, that it would be hard for me to be in the first-team and that they were open to a sale in case of a good offer for everyone.”
The striker would go on to spend two seasons at Juventus learning from the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo to improve his game.
However, he only made one appearance for the Italian side before joining Montpellier in a £5.67 million deal and that is where he would blossom.
The 23-year-old is continuing on from his impressive nine goals from the first season for the French side and has already netted three times in the opening weeks of this campaign.
The Englishman has been praised for his performances and is starting to make a name for himself in Ligue 1. This could introduce the feeling of regret for Arsenal as the club is about to find itself in a striker crisis situation.
Both Nketiah and Lacazette are set to leave the club after their contracts expire in the summer, meaning this would leave Aubameyang and Balogun as the only natural strikers in the squad.
Mavididi was ahead in his development at the time of his sale compared to Nketiah who hasn’t had the greatest of contributions since his promotion from the Hale End academy.
With only a year difference in age, the Gunners may have benefited from deciding to keep Mavididi rather than selling him on. But if the 23-year-old striker continues to perform in France, he could certainly be an option for Mikel Arteta to replace Nketiah.
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