One Arsenal staff member was responsible for pushing to sign Cristian Romero from Tottenham

Many Arsenal fans were understandably sceptical about buying Cristian Romero.

The Tottenham captain had been identified as an ideal solution to the Gunners’ need for a centre-back in the absence of William Saliba.

In a footballing sense, there were reasons to get on board with the potential signing, but only if you ignore the elephant in the room.

Some, perhaps many, will be glad that pursuit never really went anywhere, and Romero is now set to join Atletico Madrid for just under £35million.

That seems a very modest fee compared to the £60million Aston Villa want for Ezri Konsa, who Arsenal are seemingly prioritising, but Spurs were never going to sell to their North London rivals, realistically.

So where did the interest in Romero actually come from?

Gabriel Heinze pushed for Arsenal to sign Cristian Romero

Indeed, it was one of Mikel Arteta’s assistant coaches, Gabriel Heinze, who was actively pushing for the Gunners to make a move for Romero.

Speaking on The Athletic’s The View From The Lane, journalist Jay Harris has shed light on exactly where the Romero interest originated inside Arsenal.

“Yeah, I think it’s been an open secret pretty much throughout the entire summer that Romero was probably going to go,” he said.

“There was interest from Arsenal last week. That’s mainly due to the fact that Gabriel Heinze is on Arteta’s staff.”

Heinze joined Arteta’s coaching setup last summer and quickly became one of the most influential figures at London Colney.

The former Manchester United defender was credited for the improvement in Viktor Gyokeres’ game at the back end of last season.

The Argentine connection to Romero appears to have been the driving force behind Arsenal’s interest.

While his backing gave Arsenal the impetus to explore a move, the reality of the rivalry made a deal an uphill battle from day one.

Inter Milan had initially agreed on terms with Spurs before falling through over wages, paving the way for Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid to step in and secure the 28-year-old for £35million.