Arsenal transfer news: Gunners had more than 20 players on summer shortlist

While the club provided Arteta with proven talent in defense and midfield, Berta’s quest to bring in an elite attacker ended in disappointment.

Rogers was the club’s top target coming through the window, and early signs were positive amid strong internal opinion that the striker wanted to join.

Earlier in the summer, Arsenal understood that Villa valued Rogers at £100m. Arsenal valued Rogers at £80m.

Berta, however, was confident that he could negotiate the price to a level that he and the club believed could seal the deal.

Meanwhile, Berta explored alternatives: Bradley Barcola, Kenan Yildiz, Yan Diomande and Nico Paz were admired.

Anthony Gordon was a long-term target, but had agreed before the World Cup to join Barcelona.

Yildiz and Paz will remain realistic targets in the future. Eli Junior Kroupi is another who the club will monitor once he returns from injury at Bournemouth.

However, Anderson’s £116m move from Forest to City altered Villa’s outlook on Rogers’ future.

Villa increased his valuation to £120 million and Chelsea eventually signed the attacker for £117 million.

It is understood that Arsenal were given the opportunity to match Chelsea’s offer but declined, believing their £80million valuation was fair, but it raises the question of whether Rogers would be a Gunners player now if Berta had acted sooner.

In the end, the failure to land Rogers came as the first in a series of blows to Berta in her efforts to provide a top left attacker for the team.

Arsenal actually believed they had a realistic chance of signing Vinicius Jr before he decided to sign a new contract at Real Madrid.

Berta and Arteta were interested in the Brazilian icon. The club was also willing to finance the deal.

While the transfer would likely have cost a British record fee and been one of the most lucrative remuneration packages in Premier League history, the benefit to Arteta’s team and the commercial value of the Brazilian superstar meant Arsenal were absolutely prepared to complete the deal.

However, well-placed sources told BBC Sport over the summer that Vinicius did not want to leave Real, while others feared Arsenal were being used to bolster the attacker’s efforts to secure a more lucrative contract at the Bernabeu.

Those concerns became reality when Vinicius signed a new long-term contract in Spain in another disappointment for Arsenal.

There were similar reservations about Arsenal’s well-documented pursuit of Julián Álvarez.

The Atlético de Madrid striker showed very few signs that he was willing to sign for Arsenal; His preference to sign for Barcelona was one of the worst kept secrets of the window.

But Berta and Arteta considered Atlético’s outright refusal to sell to Barcelona reason enough to persist with their interest in the hope that Álvarez would change his mind until the final days of the window.

Álvarez, however, preferred to stay at Atlético, despite the fact that his relationship with the club is at its lowest point.

Did Arsenal waste time with Vinicius and Álvarez? The answer varies depending on who you talk to.

When it became clear that Álvarez was unlikely, Berta explored her options.

Interestingly, Arsenal have admired Chelsea striker Joao Pedro, who was considered unsold during the summer, although there were concerns over how he would fit into Arteta’s system.

It is claimed that Berta relies heavily on his extensive network of agent connections rather than acting on the club’s existing scouting information when analyzing the market.

For example, last summer, when all scouting information pointed to a move for Benjamin Sesko, Berta’s arrival meant the club pivoted towards Viktor Gyokeres, who is currently the second-choice striker.

This summer, the club’s latest flirtation with Lyon winger Malick Fofana provided a further example of Berta leaning on her agency connections after agency Roc Nation offered Arsenal the chance to sign the Belgian international.

Berta’s relationship with Roc Nation was particularly prevalent this summer given Arsenal’s pursuit of Vinicius and the sale of Gabriel Martinelli, both clients of the agency.

It remains to be seen what impact Arsenal’s failure to sign a recognized top-class attacker will have on their season, particularly in light of the departures of Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.