\n<\/p>\n
Former Premier League scout Bryan King has asked \u201cwhy the hell\u201d Arsenal didn\u2019t sign Morgan Rogers after \u201cmaking a song and dance\u201d about their pursuit.<\/p>\n
The Gunners placed Rogers towards the top of their shortlist for this summer. He was deemed one of the main men to push them further away from the chasing pack in the Premier League.<\/p>\n
While they held conversations with the Aston Villa star, they didn\u2019t want to pay above \u00a3100million, and Villa were adamant they were going to earn more than that for Rogers.<\/p>\n
As a result, Arsenal never actually got to the point of making a bid for Rogers, with Chelsea stepping in and agreeing a fee before their London rivals had done anything concrete.<\/p>\n
Former Premier League scout King can\u2019t believe the Gunners didn\u2019t push on.<\/p>\n
He told Football Insider<\/em>: \u201cI mean I thought Arsenal were making all the song and dance about it, why the hell they never just went and signed him when you\u2019re talking that kind of money.<\/p>\n \u201cThey paid \u00a3100m\u00a0for (Declan) Rice so \u00a317m more isn\u2019t going to make a great deal of difference for the type of quality\u00a0you\u2019re going to get.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to get the mainstay of the England midfield. But\u00a0again, hesitation can be a bad thing in football, whether you\u2019re playing or you\u2019re looking for\u00a0bringing new players. They hesitated. Chelsea have hijacked it.\u201d<\/p>\n Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has revealed that the Blues\u2019 ability to burst past them and agree a \u00a3117million deal for Rogers came as a shock to Arsenal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cFor Arsenal, it\u2019s a big surprise because they now have to react on the market.<\/p>\n \u201cMikel Arteta had direct conversations with Morgan Rogers over the last few months, and the player was a serious target. But Arsenal were always hoping to negotiate the price with Aston Villa.<\/p>\n READ<\/strong><\/em>: Arsenal accelerate shock \u00a377m signing of Spanish World Cup winner<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI can guarantee Arsenal\u2019s intention was to bid around \u00a390m, maybe a maximum of \u00a3100m, but never \u00a3117m (\u20ac138m, $157.5m).<\/p>\n \u201cChelsea decided to go all in immediately, and the only way to avoid an Arsenal counter-hijack was to complete the deal within 24 hours, and that\u2019s exactly what they did.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, Chelsea had hardly been mentioned in the same sentence as Rogers, while their London rivals were heavily involved.<\/p>\n But the Englishman will play his football at Stamford Bridge next summer, alongside fellow Manchester City academy graduate Cole Palmer, who he\u2019s been friends with for years.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/strong><\/em>: Merson claims Chelsea don\u2019t need \u2018atrocious\u2019 Rogers for \u00a3117m as Cole predicts exit<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\nArsenal shocked by Chelsea deal<\/strong><\/h2>\n