IT took Dusan Vlahovic just TWELVE minutes to open his account for Juventus… and rub salt into the wounds of Arsenal fans.
Vlahovic joined Juve in a £62million deal last month after snubbing sustained interest from the Gunners.
The 21-year-old was chucked straight in from the start in the Serie A clash against Hellas Verona, and it didn’t take him long to get used to his new surroundings.
With just over 12 minutes on the clock the ball dropped into the path of Manchester United and Liverpool target Paulo Dybala.
He lofted a perfectly weighted pass over the top, which Vlahovic ran on to and deliciously chipped over the onrushing Lorenzo Montipo.
It was a goal of the highest quality, and saw Vlahovic kick off his career as a Juve player in ideal fashion.
It was exactly the type of clinical finish that will have Arsenal fans thinking what could have been.
Reports in January claimed the Gunners had offered a whopping £88m for Vlahovic’s services.
But he only had eyes for Juve, with suggestions that Arsenal felt their interest was used as a ‘smokescreen’ by Fiorentina in order to negotiate a better deal with their Italian rivals.
The Gunners ended the transfer window with even fewer striking options than they started it with, after cancelling Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s contract in order for him to sign for Barcelona.
Vlahovic was a top target for Mikel Arteta throughout January, but after failing to land his preferred choice no replacement was identified.
And to really add insult to injury for Arteta, Denis Zakaria, another Arsenal target, followed Vlahovic’s lead to also score on his Juventus debut.
He showed almost as much composure as his new team-mate to calmly slot past Montipo and round off a flowing Juve counter attack.
Zakaria joined Vlahovic in snubbing the Gunners in January, despite naming club legend Patrick Vieira as his idol.
Juve’s 2-0 victory finally sent them into the top four of Serie A after a disappointing season.
And boss Max Allegri will hope Vlahovic can turn things around and fill the goalscoring void left by Cristiano Ronaldo.
