Ronald Araujo has dealt Arsenal a major transfer blow.
After looking for a way out of Barcelona, the defender has now been persuaded by sporting director Deco to stay with the Catalan team. Araujo had instructed his agents to seek a move away from Camp Nou and Juventus had already seen a bid rejected by the La Liga giants.
The Uruguay international's contract runs until 2026 but his departure looked all but certain, with the Gunners hoping to take advantage of the situation. Araujo lost his place in Hansi Flick's squad to Inigo Martinez after missing most of this season due to a hamstring injury, making just two appearances in the 2024/2024 campaign.
One of these, however, was Barcelona's impressive Super Cup victory over Real Madrid. Mundo Deportivo report that Araujo took a 'radical turn' after the match and that ex-Chelsea and Porto midfielder Deco made a breakthrough on the situation after talks with the centre-back on Tuesday.
Araujo received praise from Flick heading into El Clasico. “I want Araujo in my team because he is one of the best defenders,” Flick said at his pre-match press conference. “He is a professional and is fit now, recovered from his injury, so he can help us.”
The German coach was even more ebullient after the win, but avoided details of the conversations he had with the player.
“I'm not going to reveal the conversations I had with him,” Flick said. “It's a shame about Inigo's [Martinez] injury, it is a very important loss. He can return after four weeks.
“Against Madrid we saw that Araujo is back, his performance was very good. He is one of the best central defenders in the world. He proved that on Sunday, I am very happy.”
Club president Joan Laporta was confident that discussions with Deco would lead to a solution that suited both Araujo and the club. The Barca chief suggested he wanted the 25-year-old to stay in Catalonia.
“We believe that everyone is very useful for Barcelona and we want Araujo to continue,” he said. “He talks to Deco and we come to a solution. We appreciate him on a professional and personal level. There is room to find a solution for everyone.”
Arsenal's attention may now be more focused on adding a striker following Gabriel Jesus' injury. Mikel Arteta is confident the club are working to improve their squad this month.
“We are actively looking into the market to improve the squad,” he said. 'We have been that way since day one.
“It would be naive not to do that because there is always a chance to evolve the team and improve the squad. Especially with the conditions we have. So yes, we are looking and let's see what we can do .”
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