Arsene Wenger admitted that the club were interested in Gonzalo Higuain in the summer transfer window, but failed to complete a deal as Napoli gazumped them with a bigger offer.
A deal for Higuain was thought to be as good as done, with many of the Gooners even preparing themselves to welcome the Argentine from Real Madrid, only to see the deal suddenly fall through.
It is believed Real Madrid increased their demands for the striker, with Arsenal dithering over the move and thus enabling Napoli, who had plenty of cash following the sale of Edinson Cavani, to push the transfer through.
Wenger was also in two minds about Higuain at that point as he had turned his attentions towards Luis Suarez, thinking that a bid over £40 million would force Liverpool to sell their striker.
However, the move did not pan as planned out and before Arsenal had blinked, Higuain was on his way to Naples, leaving them with little world-class options in the striker market.
"We were working on two or three targets and he was one of them," Wenger told the club's official website. "It didn't come off in the end, that doesn't take anything away from his quality.
"Napoli took advantage of that at the right moment, it's more about timing as well.
"In the end Real Madrid sold two great players, one of them went to Napoli, one (Mesut Ozil) went to Arsenal so it's 1-1 on that front."
Arsenal face Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday and Wenger will be hoping Higuain does not come to haunt the Gunners.
The Gunners are still a striker short, with only Yaya Sanogo and Nicklas Bendtner available as pure strikers to backup Olivier Giroud.
If Giroud injures himself between now and the January transfer window, Arsenal could find themselves in real trouble. Wenger is looking at the possibility of bringing in a quality striker to the Emirates at the turn of the year, and continues to be linked with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.
