Arsenal transfer target slammed for snubbing the Gunners is now without a club

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Dusan Vlahovic is set to become a free agent this month - four-and-a-half years after he was slammed for rejecting Arsenal in favour of Juventus . The 26-year-old forward will leave Juventus on June 30, having been unable to agree terms over a new contract following crunch talks with club officials about his future.

The Serbia international's wage expectations exceeded what the club was prepared to offer, bringing his time in Turin to an end. Vlahovic netted 68 goals in 168 appearances for Juventus, including 10 this season in 23 outings across all competitions during an injury-plagued 2025/26 campaign.

Despite those stats, it has been a frustrating few years for both club and player as Vlahovic showed flashes of quality but failed to deliver on a consistent basis.

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That justified the brutal comments from Antonio Cassano back when Vlahovic chose Juventus over Arsenal in a high-profile £66million transfer from Fiorentina in January 2022. He had been strongly linked with a transfer to north London that same month and Arsenal even tabled a bid of £50m plus Lucas Torreira , which was turned down by Fiorentina.

Despite being at the top of Mikel Arteta's transfer wishlist after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang departed the club, Vlahovic signed a four-year contract with the Old Lady and openly stated that Arsenal were never an option for him .

That decision was heavily criticised by Cassano, who believed he was "sensationally wrong" to not move to the Emirates. The former Italy international argued it was less of a step up at Arsenal and would therefore be easier to adapt, given the rebuild Arteta's men were going through. Ironically, Juventus failed to win a single Scudetto during Vlahovic's spell there, while Arsenal have become European heavyweights.

Cassano told Bobo TV: "In my opinion [Vlahovic's decision] is sensationally wrong. For the type of player, I think he needed to make an intermediate step to a team like Arsenal, Tottenham , or Sevilla, who signed [Anthony] Martial. For me, you know, he has always been a second-tier player.

"This is a huge step for him, playing with Fiorentina is another thing. For him, it is a very important step, but above all it's risky. For Juve, it is not enough to do what you did at Fiorentina.

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"It's not enough to score 15 goals, 20 goals. At Juve, every match must be decisive. It's a dangerous weight on him. He had to take the next step, but not two steps, at Juve you have to score at least 30 goals per season and you have to take home the performances and titles.

"I don't see him as a player for Juve. He is a Serbian, a particular character, I don't see him fitting in well with Juve's dressing room, that's the opinion I have."