‘I only wanted Juve’: £35m midfielder reveals why he refused to sign for Arsenal
Arsenal are one of the very top teams in Europe right now and the thought of any player turning them down is hard to fathom.
Sure, we see the very elite players often having options but when it comes to players from leagues like Serie A, the Bundesliga and even La Liga, few can resist the lure of the current Premier League champs.
However, not everyone is set on joining a Premier League team. They have other dreams.
And in the case of Italian star Manuel Locatelli, that’s exactly what happened when it came to joining Juventus over Arsenal.
Why Manuel Locatelli chose to reject Arsenal
There were a few summer transfer windows in a row where it seemed inevitable that Manuel Locatelli would end up an Arsenal player.
He ticked all the boxes, was wanted by both Mikel Arteta and the board, and prior to Declan Rice signing, was everything Arsenal needed.
However, he joined Juventus for £35m instead and speaking to Tuttomercatoweb, he’s explained just why.
It was a completely heartfelt choice.” Manuel Locatelli , Juventus midfielder and captain , told Rivista Undici about his refusal to sign for Arsenal while awaiting a call from the Bianconeri, which eventually came,” Locatelli explained.
“Arsenal is an incredible team, with a great history, in a very important league. But I only wanted Juve, and I had wanted it for a year when I was very close. I didn’t want to listen to any other offers. My agents were going crazy. They were suggesting other teams, and I said ‘only Juve’.”
Since signing for Juve, Locatelli has shown just why Arsenal wanted him.
He is rarely injured, playing over 30 games in each of the last six seasons. In that time, he’s been a defensive midfield stallion for Juve, with the stats showing he completes over 88% of passes and makes at least six key defensive actions per game on average.
Of course, the ship seems to have sailed now with Locatelli and Arsenal have moved on.
But it’s always nice to hear an explanation as to why a deal didn’t happen and with this one, it seems it was very much dictated by the player themselves.