Arsenal have been left to rue passing on a bargain initial £830k loan deal for Randal Kolo Muani after Kai Havertz was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury.
The Gunners have now confirmed the German international, who suffered the gut-wrenching blow when blocking a shot during the club's warm-weather training camp in Dubai, is due to undergo surgery and his rehabilitation will extend into pre-season.
It follows the news that Gabriel Martinelli is expected to miss around one month of action with a hamstring strain sustained in the Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg defeat at Newcastle.
Arsenal ultimately decided against signing a forward during the January transfer window but they were not short of opportunities - even if Mikel Merino has since offered hope he could provide a makeshift solution in attack following his late two-goal cameo at Leicester.
At the start of the year, they were offered Paris Saint-Germain striker Kolo Muani, frozen out by Luis Enrique, but Mikel Arteta was unable to provide assurances of minutes.
The Frenchman wanted to play following several months in the cold at the Parc des Princes and eventually chose a move to Juve over Tottenham.
Juventus paid an initial €1m (£830,000) loan fee and have immediately reaped the rewards of the agreement as Kolo Muani has already struck five goals in his first three Serie A appearances.
The 26-year-old found the target on his debut against Napoli before also netting braces against Empoli and Como.
The Italian giants could end up paying up to £4.75m is various performance-related add-ons are met but that is small change when you consider Kolo Muani has already threatened to change the course of their ill-fated season.
It's not a stretch to say that had Martinelli and Havertz suffered their injuries prior to Kolo Muani's switch to Turin, Arsenal would surely have jumped at the chance to bring him onboard.
The Gunners were also offered 32-year-old striker Alvaro Morata before his switch to Galatasaray from AC Milan but politely declined the opportunity.
A deal for Tottenham loanee Mathys Tel was also explored but Arsenal weren't willing to meet Bayern Munich's financial demands and much like Kolo Muani, Arteta couldn't provide guarantees over playing time.
Tel desperately wanted to play regularly, otherwise would have likely remained at Bayern and reassessed his situation at the end of the season.
It has since emerged that Tottenham are paying an £8.3m loan fee for Tel following his dramatic deadline-day U-turn while the north London club are also covering the forward's salary for the next five months.
Spurs have a £45.8m option to buy this summer that could rise to £50m with bonuses. Ange Postecoglou has already spoken publicly that he expects the Frenchman to be a Tottenham player next season.