£47m player who rejected Arsenal last summer now labelled a flop by German media after difficult season

Arsenal have backed Mikel Arteta sufficiently since he replaced Unai Emery in December 2019.

Those in the boardroom at the Emirates Stadium have even shattered Arsenal’s transfer record to add Declan Rice to the Spaniard’s squad in a £105m move, while significant fees have also been spent on Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and Kai Havertz.

• Declan Rice – £105m
• Kai Havertz – £65m
• Ben White – £50m
• Gabriel Jesus – £45m
• Thomas Partey – £45m
• Riccardo Calafiori – £42m

Having said that, as is the case at most clubs, there were some targets Arsenal failed to acquire – such as Joao Palhinha.

Now – however – the Portugal international seems more like a dodged bullet for Arsenal rather than the one who got away.

BILD label Joao Palhinha as one of the worst signings of the season

German news outlet BILD have now deduced their worst signings of the 2024/25 campaign as the season draws to a close, and the aforementioned midfielder is there.

Palhinha rejected Arsenal in favour of a £47m move to Bayern Munich, who were hugely impressed with his efforts at Fulham – enough to make him the fifth most expensive signing in their history.

However, the 29-year-old has struggled, making just six starts in the Bundesliga this season, with Vincent Kompany seemingly unconvinced by his expensive summer signing.

BILD write that Bayern Munich are now keen to offload Palhinha – who said he remains content at the Allianz Arena – but do not want to make a loss on their £47m investment, who is labelled a ‘flop’ and placed in the worst ten signings of the Bundesliga season in their brutal report.

Arsenal have moved on

With Palhinha turning 30 in July, we can’t see Arsenal going back in for his signature – especially with an asking price of £47m.

Anyway, the Gunners seem to have moved on to a new midfielder, with a deal in place.

Arsenal are expecting to welcome Martin Zubimendi to N5 once the season ends, a player Arteta is believed to have admired for some time.

Of course, Jorginho is heading to Flamengo, so Arsenal could yet sign another central midfielder, although we highly doubt Palhinha will be targeted again given the circumstances.

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