Arsenal told they avoided glaring transfer error as top January target flops in eyes of Man Utd hero

Arthur Melo put in a shocking Juventus performance against Villarreal according to Patrice Evra, following Arsenal transfer interest in the midfielder.

Despite claiming a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie, the Old Lady lost convincingly in the return leg in Turin. Indeed, Villarreal claimed a 3-0 win on Juve’s home turf to march into the quarter-finals.

The tie looked set to go to extra time, with the aggregate score still 1-1 after 80 minutes.

However, Gerard Moreno’s penalty made it 2-1 and as Juve pushed to claw their way back, Villarreal punished the hosts with two further goals.

As for Juventus’ display on Wednesday, pundit and former Man Utd star Evra slammed Brazilian midfielder Arthur.

Arsenal tried to sign the 25-year-old in the January transfer window. In fact, Arthur was reportedly expecting and preparing for the move to London.

Still, the Gunners did not meet Juve’s demands and the player stayed put.

Evra told Amazon Prime of Arthur’s performance: “I am really disappointed by what Juve showed this evening.

“It feels like Max Allegri is performing miracles with what he’s got, because there is no quality there, especially in midfield.

“In my day, we had Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo. Now there’s Arthur…

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“I don’t think he made a single pass that really changed play today. He doesn’t make the difference.”

Former England manager Fabio Capello added that Arthur looked like “he was playing rugby”.

Arsenal looked to Arthur as a January addition while they faced a shortage of midfield options. Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny were both at the Africa Cup of Nations.

However, the Gunners got through the period and are now in the driving seat for a Premier League top-four finish.

Arthur, meanwhile, continues to play a key role in Allegri’s side. January signing Denis Zakaria from Borussia Monchengladbach had a solid start but has encountered injury issues which have kept him out of Juve’s last four games.

Arthur Melo eyed as Arsenal look for midfield reinforcements

Arsenal have a strong core group as they push for Champions League football.

Partey, Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe are their star quartet in midfield.

However, they have been lucky with no injuries to those players.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has Albert Sambi Lokonga in reserve. The Belgian has remained on the bench for Arsenal’s past six games.

However, the London club could still do with reinforcements in midfield to cover for potential injuries.

There is also uncertainty over Xhaka’s future, with Roma supposedly still keen on the Switzerland international.