Arsenal failed in their attempt to sign Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti.
Arsenal signed two defenders in the last transfer window and their fans will be happy that Mikel Arteta was able to get cover for a position that has given them so much trouble recently.
The Gunners signed Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares, however, they could have signed Samuel Umtiti instead.
Mirror Sports claims that Arsenal made a late attempt to sign Umtiti who has struggled for minutes this season.
However, the Frenchman turned them down and instead wants to fight for his place at Camp Nou.
Umtiti has played just ten times for the Catalans this season and Arteta had hoped that the promise of regular playing time would convince him to join, but that never impressed him.
The report claims that it was after Umtiti had turned them down that Arsenal began looking for alternatives.
They signed Mari from Flamengo for an initial loan deal and Arteta has admitted that he was happy to be landing a left-footed centre back.
Soares also joined from Southampton. Both players have joined on an initial six months loan deal with a view to making their moves permanent after this season ends.
Arsenal is expected to make some major signings when the season concludes and Umtiti might eventually be brought in to the Emirates.
It is most likely that any attempt to sign Umtiti was only a loan deal with funds apparently being tight according to the manager but as things stand right now, that is unclear.