Jack Wilshere was weighing up a move to Roma but the deal broke down in part because Arsenal demanded a higher fee to sign the midfielder than the asking price for their English counterparts.
The 24-year-old joined Bournemouth last night on loan until the end of the season after turning down at least four other Premier League clubs including Crystal Palace.
The attraction of staying in England was obvious given Wilshere has two young children and Cherries boss Eddie Howe is thought to have assured him of regular first-team action this season but Standard Sport understands he was seriously considering a move overseas in an effort to play Champions League or Europa League football.
Roma – who were knocked out in the Champions League play-off round last month – made a concerted effort to sign Wilshere while AC Milan and Juventus also registered an interest.
But all three clubs are believed to have been told that they would be expected to pay a fee well in excess of the £2m both Bournemouth and Crystal Palace had agreed to meet in order to sign Wilshere and talks quickly broke down.
There was also a suggestion that Arsenal were unwilling to do business with Roma in particular after being given short shrift in their attempt to sign Kostas Manolas from the Serie A club earlier in the transfer window.
No Italian club agreed terms with Arsenal and Wilshere – whose £90,000-a-week wage will be covered by Bournemouth – and he opted to move to the south coast after being impressed by Howe during a meeting on Tuesday.
