Arsenal were active in the January transfer window.

The Gunners signed Martin Odegaard and Mat Ryan, both arriving on loan from Real Madrid and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively.

Mikel Arteta’s side had been in good form prior to the end of the window, going seven games without a defeat.

However, on Tuesday, they lost 2-1 to Wolves, and it has now emerged that they tried to sign a La Liga star before the deadline.

Metro carries a report from RAC1, claiming that the club were interested in a swoop for Barcelona star Junior Firpo.

They are said to have made a deadline day bid but were unable to reach an agreement with the Catalan club.

Firpo has made just four La Liga appearances this season but Barca boss Ronald Koeman says that he wants to keep him in the Camp Nou squad.

He said: “Junior is with us and he did well in the minutes he has had.

“It depends on what each young player wants, we cannot lose all the players either. We need a squad to face the many games that remain.”

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

This would have been a decent deal for Arsenal.

While they do have Kieran Tierney as their first-choice left-back, Sead Kolasinac left the club on deadline day to join Schalke 04.

A move to bring Firpo in would have ensured that he was replaced at a stroke, though it is debatable how many minutes he would have played in north London.

With the squad in the state that it is now, a deal to bring the 24-year-old in would have bolstered Arteta’s ranks and ensured that the squad is complete.

Instead, they have a hole at full-back.