Summary
Arsenal snubbed future star Kvaratskhelia after being left unconvinced by his potential.
The Georgian played a pivotal role in the Gunners' Champions League semi-final exit.
Fans are stunned by who Mikel Arteta opted to sign instead of the winger.
Days removed from their Champions League semi-final elimination at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal supporters are no doubt continuing to wonder 'what might have been' as Mikel Arteta's men fall short of a major trophy yet again. The Gunners could not contain the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi and Joao Neves across the two legs, with the Parisians now having the chance to win Europe's biggest prize for the first time in their history.
Another name pivotal to Luis Enrique's side was January addition Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has made a major impact in the French capital since signing from Napoli. However, he could've been lining up on the other side of the pitch had Arsenal made their move for him after scouting him years earlier. Instead, they went with another promising winger, and history has proven that it was a costly decision.
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According to a report by The Sun, Arsenal were first made aware of Kvaratskhelia in 2021 as they were searching for talent in Eastern Europe. According to scout Tomasz Pasieczny, he happened to stumble across the winger by chance as the Georgian youth team travelled to Poland for a tournament.
However, after watching him with more intent whilst the forward was at Rubin Kazan, Pasieczny was not convinced that Kvaratskhelia would turn into the superstar he became:
"I was at the old stadium in Kazan for a match with Dynamo Moscow, Khvicha came off the bench, made two completely unsuccessful dribbles and the fans reacted very negatively. At that stage he couldn't cope with it. Every next move was bad, from start to finish. He got lost, the ball bounced off him, you could see that he had lost his confidence.
"Everyone knew he would be mega good, but they wondered how good. Whether he would be the absolute top or a bit lower. Few had any doubts that he wouldn't be anything at all. However, at that stage I had to write how it is, draw conclusions, write where the problems are."
Of course, the winger would get over those initial hurdles and convince Napoli to take the risk and splash £10 million on him. The rest, as they say, was history. As for who the Gunners opted for instead? It turns out that not long after opting against bringing Kvaratskhelia to North London, they agreed a deal for Brazilian winger Marquinhos from Sao Paulo.
Needless to say, when fans put the dots together, they were not pleased to find out what they got in exchange for what they missed out on. Taking to social media, one fan stated that the decision to sign Marquinhos over the Georgian star was a "sackable offence," while another claimed: "The person who did this should be jailed for treason."
A third added, throwing shade at former director Edu, saying: "Edu is a fool," while others described the move as "unbelievable" and a "shocking decision."
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Marquinhos' Current Status With Arsenal
The winger is still contracted to the club
Though Arsenal fans may be fuming about the fact they missed out on a future world-class talent by opting for a player who has yet to make the grade, they may be shocked to find that Marquinhos is actually still contracted at the club, with his deal not expiring until 2027.
Signed as a teenager in 2022, the winger has made a total of just six appearances for the Gunners. His first ever game couldn't have gone much better though, as he scored and got an assist on his debut in a 2-1 Europa League win over FC Zurich. Sadly, he couldn't build on that early momentum, and found himself embarking on several loans to gain regular experience.
Stints at Norwich City and Nantes where he barely featured were followed by a return to Brazil to join Fluminense. After that loan deal came to an end in December, he was then shifted on to Cruzeiro, where he will remain until the end of the calendar year.
He has so far made 16 appearances for his new club, though many of them have come off the bench. With just one goal and one assist to his name, it seems increasingly unlikely that Cruzeiro will activate the option they have to sign him on a permanent deal.
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All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt - accurate as of 10/05/2025.