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‘On the verge’: ‘Great player’ now laughs at Arsenal for snubbing him and signing Ozil instead in 2013
Gonzalo Higuain has just laughed at Arsenal for snubbing him back in the summer of 2013 – the same transfer window in which the Gunners went and signed Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid.
Just like this summer, Arsenal were in desperate need of a new striker nine years ago. Arsene Wenger had bought Olivier Giround 12 months earlier as a replacement to Robin van Persie, but the French number nine didn’t really hit the heights that Gunners fans were hoping for.
Rumours heavily linked Arsenal with a move for Higuain, who was then at Real Madrid. even claimed then that the Argentine international was on the verge of moving to the Emirates for £23 million.
Then, a Napoli side who were boosted by the huge sale of Edinson Cavani to PSG, came in with a £34 million offer for Higuain (). Arsenal made it clear they weren’t going to match that fee, and that caused the deal to collapse.
Gonzalo Higuain laughs at Arsenal for snubbing him
After Arsenal decided against signing Higuain, Napoli wrapped up the deal very quickly. Gunners fans were far from pleased at that point in the window, and Wenger had to do something on transfer deadline day to appease the supporters.
Just before the window shut, Arsenal announced the signing of Mesut Ozil, Higuain’s Real Madrid teammate of three years, for a club-record fee. Almost nine years later now, it seems like the Argentine is still a bit annoyed by Wenger’s decision.
Higuain, branded as a ‘‘, told , as translated by : “I remember that I was on the verge of going to Arsenal when I went to Napoli, but they said I was too expensive.”
“And a few days later, they paid €80 million (£68m) for Ozil!” laughed Higuain.
Arsenal actually paid £42.4 million for the German playmaker on transfer deadline day in 2013. ()
Where’s Higuain now?
After Arsenal snubbed him, Higuain became a star at Napoli. In three seasons there, the Argentine scored 91 goals and provided 26 assists in 146 games in all competitions.
Then, he joined Juventus in a hugely controversial move for £75.3 million (). He played 149 games for the Turin club, scored 66 goals and provided 16 assists.
He was sent out on loan twice – first to AC Milan and then to Chelsea. Both spells proved to be hugely underwhelming in comparison to what he had previously achieved in Italy and Spain.
Finally, in September 2020, he moved to America to join Inter Miami. He has played 51 times for the MLS side so far, scoring 15 goals and providing nine assists. His contract there expires at the end of this year and it will be interesting to see what he does then.
