Matteo Moretto reports that Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, and Bayern Munich all showed an interest in Girona left-back Miguel Gutierrez this summer, but none of the three clubs made an official offer for the player.
Instead, Gutierrez remained with Girona, where he’ll be able to play in the Champions League this season (including a match against Arsenal in January).
If he performs well, you’d imagine he’ll attract more transfer interest next year.
As for why Arsenal didn’t end up making a move, that was likely due to their pursuit of Riccardo Calafiori.
With a number of players already at the club capable of playing at left-back, and Calafiori joining to add to those options, Gutierrez was no longer required.
In fact, Arsenal’s pursuit of Calafiori is likely what prompted the only formal bid for Gutierrez this summer.
Moretto writes that Calafiori’s former club Bologna presented a formal offer and made a lot of enquiries, but they failed to make any progress with a deal. Gutierrez had doubts, and Bologna turned to Juan Miranda instead.
With Arsenal having Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jurrien Timber, Kieran Tierney, Jakub Kiwior, and Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gutierrez is unlikely to be a player the Gunners revisit in January.
The Gunners will instead likely look to offload one or two left-backs in the coming windows before they think about bringing any more in.
Many players on the above list can also play at centre-back or right-back, so there’s no urgent need to sell if Arsenal don’t get the right offers. But there’s no need to buy either.
