While the club delivered proven talent for Arteta in defence and midfield, Berta’s remit of adding an elite attacker ended in disappointment.<\/p>\n
Rogers was the club’s primary target heading into the window, and the early indications were positive amid a strongly held view internally that the forward wanted to join.<\/p>\n
At the start of the summer, it was Arsenal<\/a>‘s understanding that Villa valued Rogers at \u00a3100m. Arsenal<\/a> valued Rogers at \u00a380m.<\/p>\n Berta, however, was confident of negotiating the price down to a level he and the club believed could get the deal done.<\/p>\n In the meantime, however, Berta explored alternatives – Bradley Barcola, Kenan Yildiz, Yan Diomande and Nico Paz were admired.<\/p>\n Anthony Gordon was a long-term target, but he had agreed before the World Cup to join Barcelona.<\/p>\n Yildiz and Paz will continue to be realistic targets moving forward. Eli Junior Kroupi is another the club will watch once he returns from injury for Bournemouth<\/a>.<\/p>\n Anderson’s move from Forest to City for \u00a3116m, however, altered the complexion of Villa’s outlook on Rogers’ future.<\/p>\n Villa increased their valuation to \u00a3120m and ultimately Chelsea<\/a> ended up signing the attacker for \u00a3117m.<\/p>\n Arsenal<\/a>, it is understood, were given the opportunity to match Chelsea<\/a>‘s offer but refused, believing their \u00a380m valuation was fair – but it does beg the question of whether Rogers would be a Gunners player now if Berta had acted sooner.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the failure to land Rogers arrived as the first of a series of blows to Berta in his efforts to deliver a top-class left-sided attacker for the team.<\/p>\n Arsenal<\/a> genuinely believed they had a realistic chance of signing Vinicius Jr before he decided to sign a new contract at Real Madrid.<\/p>\n Berta and Arteta were all in on the Brazil icon. The club were prepared finance the deal too.<\/p>\n 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 Brazil superstar’s commercial value meant Arsenal<\/a> were absolutely prepared to complete the deal.<\/p>\n Yet well-placed sources expressed to BBC Sport over the summer that Vinicius did not want to leave Real, while others feared Arsenal<\/a> were being used to strengthen the attacker’s efforts to secure a more lucrative contract at the Bernabeu.<\/p>\n Those concerns came to fruition as Vinicius signed a new long-term contract in Spain in another Arsenal<\/a> disappointment.<\/p>\n There were similar reservations about Arsenal<\/a>‘s well-documented pursuit of Julian Alvarez.<\/p>\n The Atletico Madrid forward showed very little indication that he was willing to join Arsenal<\/a>; his preference to join Barcelona was one of the worst-kept secrets of the window.<\/p>\n But Atletico’s point-blank refusal to sell to Barcelona was deemed reason enough by Berta and Arteta to persist with their interest in the hope of Alvarez changing his mind until the closing days of the window.<\/p>\n Alvarez, however, preferred to stay at Atletico, even though his relationship with the club is at an all-time low.<\/p>\n Did Arsenal<\/a> waste their time with Vinicius and Alvarez? The answer varies depending on who you speak to.<\/p>\n When it became clear Alvarez was unlikely, Berta explored his options.<\/p>\n Intriguingly, Arsenal<\/a> have admired Chelsea<\/a> striker Joao Pedro, who was deemed not for sale over the summer, although there were concerns over how he would fit into Arteta’s system.<\/p>\n It is claimed Berta relies significantly on his vast network of agent connections rather than acting on the club’s existing scouting information when analysing the market.<\/p>\n For example, last summer, when all the scouting information pointed towards a move for Benjamin Sesko, Berta’s arrival meant the club pivoted to Viktor Gyokeres, who is currently second-choice striker.<\/p>\n This summer the club’s late dalliance with Lyon winger Malick Fofana provided a further example of Berta leaning on his agency connections after management agency Roc Nation offered Arsenal<\/a> an opportunity to sign the Belgium international.<\/p>\n Berta’s relationship with Roc Nation was particularly prevalent this summer given Arsenal<\/a>‘s pursuit of Vinicius and the sale of Gabriel Martinelli, who are both clients of the agency.<\/p>\n