Report: Arsenal offered chance to sign Mauro Icardi in January

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Arsenal rejected the chance to sign Mauro Icardi in a swap deal that would have involved Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joining Paris Saint-Germain during the January transfer window, according to a report from The Athletic.

The Gunners managed to offload Aubameyang. The striker joined Barcelona after seeing his contract at the Emirates mutually terminated.

Aubameyang’s departure opens the door for Arsenal to do some significant business in the summer.

The Athletic notes that they want the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Alexander Isak. Meanwhile, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are out of contract at the end of the season.

However, not signing a striker in January looks to have been a risk from Mikel Arteta. They certainly had options.

The Athletic reports that the chance to sign Icardi was offered to Arsenal as part of PSG’s push to land Aubameyang.

However, the Gunners rejected the Argentinian. They reportedly decided that they would only sign a striker if one of their targets became available.

Arsenal made right decision steering clear of Icardi in January

You can criticise Arsenal for not signing a striker in January. They have left themselves incredibly short of options. And that may prove costly in the race for the top-four.

Having said that, the Gunners surely made the right call not signing Icardi.

He has previously been one of the most lethal goalscorers in Europe. Former Inter boss Frank de Boer labelled him ‘incredible‘. And there is no shame not being a regular starter in the current PSG forward line.

However, he turns 29 later this month. And he has never been the hardest-working striker. So he does not appear to fit into what Arteta is trying to build at Arsenal

His record at Parc des Princes is also quite underwhelming given the stranglehold PSG tend to have over Ligue 1. They also parted with £54 million to make his loan move permanent.

Some may be disappointed by Arsenal not signing Icardi. But it does appear to have been the right call to not act upon the offer.