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This article forms part of our The Ones That Got Away feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern take a look back at players linked with moves in the past and see how they would have made an impact had they signed for the interested side.

It’s a recurring theme at the Emirates Stadium, one player hits the headlines as being one that ‘got away’ from the Gunners. In fact, Sky Sports did a whole feature on the ‘nearly signed’ narrative back in 2017. Now, in this feature we take a look at Paulo Dybala after his recent match-winning performance for Juventus in the Champions League against Lokomotiv Moscow, a competition the Gunners are struggling to return to as things stand.

Back in the summer of 2015, it became apparent that the north London giants were in a tussle with the Turin-based club for the then-Palermo striker, Dybala (Tuttosport via Sport Witness). It was then confirmed by the Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini that Arsenal and Juventus were just two of a whole host of clubs to have made a bid for him (via Joe).

He said: “Two were from Italian clubs, and two were from abroad, and they include Arsenal and Juventus.” (Source: Joe)

Well, the Gunners must be regretting not signing the Argentine attacker after his performance in the victory on Tuesday evening.

Let’s start with the important stuff, like scoring two goals late in the second half to rescue your club from an embarrassing loss at home in the Champions League.

And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, we can talk about how Dybala completed the most dribbles and played the second-most final-third passes of any midfielder/attacker in Maurizio Sarri’s side in a monstrous attacking display (via WhoScored). Amid Arsenal’s attempts to return to the continent’s premier competition, a man they almost signed proved a real leader within it. Indeed, given the recent issues with Granit Xhaka’s role as club captain, it’s perhaps fair to say the Gunners could use a leader on the pitch of this ilk; someone to drag them to victory at the highest level.

The Argentina international also provided his fair share of defensive cover in the clash against Lokomotiv Moscow, attempting the second-most tackles of any Juventus player.

Dybala was in sumptuous form for the Serie A side and makes Sarri’s attempts to sell him to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (Sky in Italy via Sky Sports) in the summer look strange.

Failing to sign Dybala looks to be a horror moment for the north London side, who showed versus Bournemouth amongst others recently, they are unable to create many chances, and could well use Dybala’s creative nous.

Arsenal fans, do you feel regretful that the Gunners didn’t sign Dybala? Let us know your thoughts!

Joe Aribo has got off to a promising start to life at Rangers but he is enjoying life even more on the international stage.

Since making the summer switch to Scotland the midfielder has four goals and two assists in 16 games for Gers, but his form for Nigeria is where he is making a name for himself.

He has followed up a debut goal against Ukraine on Wednesday with a well-executed finish against Brazil, taking the ball past a defender with great skill before finding the bottom corner – a goal that he will likely remember for the rest of his life. The game ended 1-1, with Casemiro equalising for the Samba stars.

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It is some rise for the 23-year-old, who just four years ago was trying to make a professional career for himself at Staines Town.

He now has two goals in two games for his national team and his form hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Ibrox faithful, many of whom are delighted with the impact he is making.

They will hope he can take his goalscoring prowess into his club football in order to help Steven Gerrard’s side maintain their place at the top of the league, and it should certainly give him a confidence boost.

Here are some reactions from Rangers fans to his famous goal.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

QPR welcome Brentford to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Monday evening, where Mark Warburton will presumably be looking to get one over on his former employers.

The Bees have had an average start to the 2019/20 Championship campaign, currently sitting 12th on 18 points with five wins from their 13 games.

In QPR’s case, the Londoners are performing above expectations and currently find themselves in the playoff places before the weekend’s action kicks off – they are just three points off league leaders West Brom at the time of writing.

If Warburton is hoping to get a result against his former side, then there are two Brentford players who could prove to be a thorn in the 57-year-old’s side…

Said Benrahma 

The Algerian attacker is an exceptionally gifted player who has been a lively presence in the Championship this season.

Benrahma hit an impressive ten goals and recorded 14 assists in the 2018/19 season, and has proven to be a useful outlet in the current campaign with one goal and two assists in 11 appearances.

The 24-year-old averages an impressive three shots per game, 3.1 dribbles per game and 2.5 key passes per game – he has also won the WhoScored Man of the Match award in his last two league games, against Millwall and Swansea.

Ollie Watkins 

The 23-year-old has started this season on fire.

After scoring ten league goals in the entirety of last term, Watkins has already hit eight in just 13 appearances this season.

Brentford’s No.11 also averages three shots per game, while registering 1.5 key passes per game.

Additionally, Watkins is fouled by the opposition 1.2 times per game in the Championship, and he really has been a lively attacking presence in the centre-forward role so far this season.

It is no wonder that clubs like Crystal Palace are interested in the striker, and Warburton has a job on his hands to contain two of his former side’s most dangerous players.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Jurgen Klopp has praised James Milner for acting as a role model to the young players in the squad against MK Dons.

What did he say?

There is a lot riding on this season for Milner as his contract is expiring at the end of the season, and despite facing criticism for his display against Napoli he seems to be an important member of the squad for his manager.

At Stadium MK he filled in at left-back and once again slotted in with ease, supporting the young Curtis Jones ahead of him whilst contributing to the 2-0 win with a goal and assist.

Klopp was very impressed with what he offered, not just for his individual performance but the way he led by example, offering guidance to the several young players on the pitch and displaying the standard they will have to meet on a regular basis.

In his post-match press conference the German said, as reported by LiverpoolFC.com: “This man is on fire, that’s how it is. It helps a lot.

“He’s a real role model for young players. If he could play every day, Millie [James Milner] would be like this every day, that’s how it is. Absolutely brilliant.”

Setting the standard

Milner played a huge role last night, not only in earning his side the win but by showing the young players the level of performance and commitment they will have to bring to each game they play.

His level of consistency has been impressive ever since he joined the Reds, whether playing at left-back or midfield, and despite him growing older he still appears to be as important to Klopp as ever.

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That means it is likely his contract will be renewed at some point, and rightly so.

It is true that he might not compare to his midfield teammates in terms of the number of passes he makes or how often he beats an opponent with the ball, but to lose a figure like him from the dressing room, with all his experience, would likely be a significant blow.

With youngsters appearing to come through it is important Liverpool retain the leadership qualities they have in players like Milner, as that can prove vital in their development, and over the course of a title race.

Rangers visit Switzerland on Thursday night as they play Young Boys in the second round of fixtures in the Europa League group stage, and one comment from Steven Gerrard has generated quite the response on social media.

The former Liverpool player was speaking confidently ahead of the clash and his words would have had little impact if he were talking about any other team, but the club in question has seen the Rangers boss inadvertently commit a real PR shocker.

Backing his Ibrox troops ahead of the clash, Gerrard declared: “we can hurt Young Boys”.

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Many have responded humorously to the quote, expressing their shock at the fact their manager could say such a thing.

The tweet in question now has more than a thousand comments, with some declaring the club ought to delete the post, but the majority are continuing to enjoy themselves by mocking Gerrard’s comments with visual responses – whether that’s GIFs or memes.

It remains to be seen whether Rangers can overcome the Swiss outfit, but they will hope for a similar result from when the two teams last met in 1977 – the Gers were 3-2 aggregate winners in the Cup Winners’ Cup.

Check out how Twitter has responded this Gerrard shocker below…

Despite having lost all of their last three matches in the Premier League, Everton will head into Tuesday night’s match with Cardiff City as slight favourites after Neil Warnock’s men were hammered 5-1 by Watford this past weekend.

Everton probably preferred having the weekend off to regroup as a team ahead of the match at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Marco Silva’s men dominated proceedings at Watford last weekend but suffered defeat thanks to an Andre Gray goal in the second-half.

But, one big positive that the manager could’ve taken from the match with the Hornets was the short but clinical performance by substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who replaced Gylfi Sigurdsson in the 74th minute.

The change saw Calvert-Lewin and Cenk Tosun play together for the first time in quite a while. And, Calvert-Lewin immediately made his presence felt as Everton pressed high up the pitch, hoping to snatch a late equaliser.

Silva has struggled to find his best combinations so far this season and has been rotating his team quite regularly in recent matches.

Playing Calvert-Lewin and Tosun together, as two strikers, could give the team a significant boost.

Indeed, this new solution may just be the answer to the Toffees’ recent attacking woes, with a successful trial in their next game against Cardiff City possibly being the first step to launching Everton into the European places.

Silva dropped Bernard to the bench for the match against his former team and started Sigurdsson on the left wing, with Tom Davies operating in the middle.

A change in formation might be more accommodating if both Calvert-Lewin and Tosun start on Tuesday, which would present Everton with a new and exciting tactical shift.

It could also present more chances for crosses to be whipped into the box, while Calvert-Lewin has shown in the past that he has the pace to cause opposition defenders problems.

Tosun could assist Calvert-Lewin, with his shooting accuracy and ability to create space possibly proving too much for a very vulnerable Cardiff defence to handle.

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Having struggled to showcase his true quality in a Manchester United shirt, Angel Di Maria has spent the past few seasons on a mission to prove his former employers wrong.

The Argentina international enjoyed a memorable, if controversial, performance on his return to Old Trafford last season, and on Wednesday night, he made another one of his old clubs rue their decision to let him go.

In a vintage display, the 31-year-old rolled back the years to score twice against Real Madrid in a resounding 3-o win for PSG in the Champions League.

After seeing Di Maria steal the limelight, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their former star.

Many supporters of the Manchester side admitted they couldn’t believe their eyes that they let the Argentine go, whilst keeping hold of the likes of Jesse Lingard.

Some Red Devils fans wondered how the winger wasn’t able to reproduce this kind of form at Old Trafford.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Aston Villa have been thriving ever since Steven Gerrard was appointed as Dean Smith’s replacement as manager, following a bad start to the season which left them 16th after losing five consecutive games in the Premier League during the autumn.

Villa have picked up 16 points in 10 games under the 41-year-old and now sit level on points with 10th- placed Leicester City in the league table, with Gerrard’s impact on the side clear to see.

Despite the U-turn that the Liverpool legend has inspired so far at Villa, not every player has benefited from his presence at the club, with Danny Ings failing to make an impact ever since he was signed last summer.

It is clear that the 29-year-old and fellow striker Ollie Watkins can’t find the connection when they play together, with Ings scoring three of his four Premier League goals this season when his strike partner was not on the pitch.

At the end of December, it was revealed that the former Southampton forward had the lowest non-penalty xG per 90 (0.15) and the lowest xA per 90 (0.02) of any Premier League forward so far this season, and has since scored just one goal.

Ings’ presence is clearly affecting Watkins’ output too, as the latter has been relocated out wide to accommodate the ex-Liverpool striker, Nonetheless, he has scored more than Ings, with five goals and one assist in 19 appearances so far this season.

Former Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor weighed in on the lack of connection between the two strikers. Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “For me, when I watch Watkins play as a central striker making runs into the channels, that’s where I want to see him, that’s what gets the best out of him.

“Every time I’ve watched Ings and Watkins play together it hasn’t worked, something isn’t working with their connection.”

Now that Gerrard has signed Philippe Coutinho, it could be the right time to axe the £19.8m-rated Ings from the team. That would Watkins to revert to his preferred position up top, with Emi Buendia and Coutinho out wide, a setup which was clearly more effective in Villa’s first win in three games against Everton recently.

It will be interesting to see how the Villa manager tackles the challenge of setting up his forward line, especially when Leon Bailey returns from injury. Unfortunately for Ings, he simply hasn’t done enough since the start of the season to merit being a regular in the starting XI, so it may be time for Gerrard to wield the axe on him.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano drops behind-the-scenes Villa claim

West Ham United are now facing potential headaches in their pursuit of Shakhtar Donetsk pair David Neres and Lassina Traore, according to TEAMtalk.

The Lowdown: Special transfer window

FIFA have announced a special transfer window following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It permits individuals playing in either country to sign for another club overseas, as they have had their current contracts suspended. At the end of June, players would then return to their parent clubs in Russia or Ukraine.

As a result, Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk have received vast interest for a number of their stars, with many clubs looking to bolster their options for the remainder of the season on the cheap.

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The Latest: West Ham face game-time obstacle

According to TEAMtalk, West Ham are facing potential difficulties in their bid to sign Shakhtar duo David Neres and Lassina Traore.

Whilst the Hammers are interested in signing both players, it has been reported that the Donetsk club are worried that the Irons would lower their future fees through a lack of game-time, as David Moyes already has a settled squad.

Therefore, the Ukrainian outfit are more inclined to go with with the interest coming from the likes of Lyon, Marseille, Real Sociedad or Corinthians.

The Verdict: Still worth pursuing

Despite this potential hurdle to deals being done, the duo would be strong additions to Moyes’ squad. Neres only joined the Ukrainian club in January after a dip in form at Ajax led to a €16m (£13.4m) move. Due to the conflict in the country, he is yet to feature for his new employers.

However, the 25-year-old had previously thrived in the Netherlands, where he produced 47 goals and 41 assists in 180 appearances for the Dutch giants.

Also signing from Ajax, Traore joined Shakhtar last summer. Despite missing the last nine league fixtures due to a knee injury, the 21-year-old has had an impressive start to life in Ukraine, having netted six goals in seven appearances in the top flight.

Given the clinical nature of the two attackers, West Ham would bolster their forward ranks greatly if they were to persuade Shakhtar to do business. With no fee involved, this seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up for GSB, particularly given Moyes’ lack of depth in the final third of the pitch.

In other news: West Ham seemingly have an edge in another transfer pursuit

Hugo Lloris is very close to extending his contract at Tottenham Hotspur…

What’s the word?

That’s according to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, who delivered the very exciting behind-the-scenes update in a recent online Q&A session with supporters.

He revealed:

“That’s expected to be tied up very soon. Conte is confident and from what I understand Lloris is keen to stay and his modest demands have been deemed more than reasonable by the powers that be at Spurs so that shouldn’t take long at all now talks have finally started. It really should have been sorted a long time ago, not in the final six months of his deal.”

Indeed, Lloris had entered the final year of his £100k-per-week contract at the start of the season and had reported interest from his former club OGC Nice, fellow Ligue 1 outfit Stade Rennes and the Major League Soccer.

Great news

This latest development will surely leave manager Antonio Conte absolutely buzzing as it means he has one less thing to worry about in 2022.

Having taken over from Nuno Santo in November, the Italian head coach has walked into an absolute nightmare of a situation and is in desperate need of reinforcements to this struggling Spurs squad.

The prospect of losing not just his captain but also a World Cup winner, and vastly-experienced and reliable option in the Premier League, would have been devastating, especially as he has been free to speak to foreign teams this month.

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Across nearly a decade at the club, the 35-year-old shot-stopper has registered 394 appearances for the club, in which he has kept 134 clean sheets – and to his credit, he has done so with many differing defences in front of him. The latest has arguably been his worst.

The likes of Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier and many others have been inconsistent and on the odd occasion, error-prone, often leaving Lloris there to bail out Spurs.

It’s no wonder ex-manager Mauricio Pochettino once deemed him to be “one of the best in the world, no doubt” after one particularly impressive display against Watford in 2018.

Conte has also waxed lyrical about the 136-cap France international. Coincidentally, it was after another wiin over the Hornets, where he told reporters (via football.london):

“The keeper has to follow the game and not only stay on the goal line to make saves. Hugo today showed that he is top, and he is always focused. For us, he is very important. And I am sure that in a short time, they can find a solution with the club because he loves Tottenham and Tottenham loves him.”

Therefore, it’s easy to see why he’d be absolutely buzzing by Gold’s recent claim that his contract is on the verge of being done and dusted. It’s surely now a matter of time before we hear an official announcement.

Conte and co can now focus on bringing in new additions this month.

AND in other news, Paratici can seal biggest Spurs signing since Son in £45m-rated “extraordinary talent”…