According to Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis, it took the club just 10-minutes to sign Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain, despite tonight’s opponents, Arsenal, taking all summer to try and capture him.
The Argentine was wanted by Arsene Wenger all summer as he eyed a new striker at the club, however, the deal never materialised and Higuain eventually joined the Italian side instead.
The two will meet tonight in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium and ahead of the clash, De Laurentiis, has revealed how quickly he wrapped up the deal for the former-Arsenal target.
‘We were in the mountains with the team and I asked my people, should we call Real Madrid? In 10 minutes it was done for €38m plus add-ons,’ said De Laurentiis when quizzed over the Higuain deal.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, he added: ‘The day after we went to Venice for eight hours closed in a room and did a deal. It was easy. ‘I didn’t know Arsenal wanted him, as nobody told me. I’m sorry, Arsenal!’
Higuain has gone on to score four goals in seven games for Napoli and is likely to start against Arsenal tonight.
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
