Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images
Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images
Arsenal made no secret of their desire to sign a left-sided winger in the summer.
After missing out on Morgan Rogers, the Gunners did all they could to convince Vinicius Jr to join them. His Real Madrid teammates even believed the Brazilian was North London-bound. However, he decided to stay, and has since struggled on the pitch.
Arsenal ended the summer having only brought in Christos Tzolis in attack. The Greek winger started impressively, but inconsistencies have begun to show, particularly around his dribbling stats.
But Arsenal had also tried to sign another winger, one who was more an option for the future. In fact, there was a point that the deal was virtually done, but he ended up at Manchester City instead.
Jeremy Monga surely regrets not joining Arsenal
Indeed, Jeremy Monga was so close to joining Arsenal in the summer. A deal with Leicester for the 17-year-old winger was close to being finalised before Man City swooped in and offered a much higher financial package, pipping the Gunners to a player they laid so much groundwork for.
Monga was confident he’d made the right ‘decision‘ at the time, but since then, the teenager has been sent out on loan to Swansea in the Championship. He hasn’t made the squad for a single one of their five league games since joining. Not one minute of senior football.
Had he joined Arsenal, he surely would’ve got a decent run-out during the 4-2 Carabao Cup win over Ipswich. Arteta’s side finished that game with five teenagers from the academy on the pitch, including — of course — Max Dowman.
Monga is a good friend of Dowman, and it’s impossible not to look at their two situations side by side and wonder what the former makes of it all. Arsenal were offering Monga a planned pathway to first-team football at the Premier League champions, and Dowman is now being touted for an England call-up.
Of course, he is only 17, and there’s plenty of time for things to change. But right now, there’s bound to be a tint of regret there.