Blow for Arsenal as Higuain snubs Emirates move in favour of £32m Napoli deal

Arsene Wenger is under even greater pressure to land Luis Suarez or Wayne Rooney after top target Gonzalo Higuain snubbed his Barclays Premier League admirers and agreed a £32million move to Napoli.

Higuain had been earmarked as the major signing needed to stop Arsenal fans becoming disillusioned and had also been linked with Liverpool, in a proposed swap deal for Suarez.

But while Arsenal quibbled over Real Madrid’s asking price, Napoli steamed in with a financial package that looks to have proved decisive.



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Welcoming committee: Napoli fans welcome Argentinian star Gonzalo Higuain

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They have offered Real £31.8million and Higuain a five-year contract worth £140,000 a week, and the figures have been accepted by both parties, according to sources in Italy. To Wenger’s dismay, Real’s Argentina striker is now heading to the Stadio San Paolo to fill the gap left by Edinson Cavani’s £55million move to Paris St Germain and become the latest addition to former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez’s rebuilding job at Napoli. Italian job: Gonzalo Higuain has signed for Napoli

Not Gunner move: Higuain has turned down a move to Arsenal and opted for Napoli The Arsenal manager desperately needs a headline capture to guard against disenchantment spreading through the ranks of Emirates supporters, who increasingly sense another summer of frustration and failure in the transfer market. He will now step up his efforts to either prise Suarez away from Anfield or challenge Chelsea for unhappy Manchester United striker Rooney.