As a disclaimer, I should note that this is one of the more bizarre transfer rumours I’ve seen in recent times. Arsenal are a club that has just secured an absolutely massive commercial deal with their current Sponsors, Emirates. Stadium and shirt sponsorship will offer the team a total of £150m. What better way to spend this new found cash than offloading a portion of it on Liverpool flop Stewart Downing? (Source: Daily Mail).
Yes, crazier things have happened in world football, but Arsenal fans would feel pretty let down if this was a transfer that turned out to have any reality.
In the recent past, Arsenal have had the likes of Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg down the wings. Iconic players who were an integral part of a fantastic team. Nowadays they have to put up with inconsistency from the likes of Theo Walcott or Gervinho. But signing Stewart Downing would still be a big step down.
Arsenal are smack-bang in the centre of a slump and need some real inspiration in the transfer market to pull themselves out of it. However you cut it, Stewart Downing is not inspirational. He has lost his way at Anfield and I’m not sure why somebody as smart as Arsene Wenger would believe that he’d be able to turn it around in North London.
The Mail claim that Arsene Wenger once viewed Stewart Downing as a replacement for Samir Nasri, but was beaten to his signature by the Reds back in 2011. Arsene wasn’t willing to cough up £20m back when Downing was at the top of his game, so I struggle to believe he’ll pay a purported £10m now that he’s at his lowest ebb.
If there’s any truth to this claims, however, I’d be extremely worried about what it meant for Theo Walcott’s future. The Arsenal winger is thought to be a transfer target for Liverpool, who may use the Gunner’s interest in their own winger to spark a swap deal. This, in my opinion would be a big mistake for Arsenal. Yes, Theo is highly inconsistent. But on his day, he’s considerably better than Stewart Downing. Isn’t that why the Reds are after him in the first place?
The truth is, Downing hasn’t looked like a £10m player for over a season and a half now. Arsene Wenger knows how to play the transfer market, but has made some mistakes in recent times – so let’s hope he doesn’t get duped by Downing.
What’s your take? Would Downing fit in at the Emirates?
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The mentality of the board, the managers, the players, and then there is the AKB’s. No wonder we think this mentality is good. I heard Santos might be leaving? please Tell to take with him: Wenger, Squillachi, Djourou, Chamak,Bendtner (news is he might be heading back) Park, Ramsey, Diaby and Rosicky (as they never really play),Fabiansky,Miquel,Gervinho,Frimpong,Denilson. JUST Imagine if we could free up these salaries?
Wenger has insufficiently allocated his wage budget on players that cannot command their salary elsewhere or undervaluing key players. This communist approach of equality of salary has hindered Arsenal as the deadwood players like Chamakh, Squillaci and Djourou represent £8Million per annum of our wage budget. No wonder no one wants to purchase them as they are paid way too much.We know that Diaby and Rosicky is injury prone, we have known this for the past three seasons.Wenger has made the most horrendous mistakes in the transfer window and now we paying for it with players like Squillachi, Bendtner, Park, Chamak, Arshavin,Yes Diaby and Rosicky still on our books when he should have made a move to sell when he had the chance. But this is just like Wenger, He slaps a hefty transfer fee on non performing players like Bendtner that no one wants to buy. Now we have to make do with this awful display. Amazingly! it is not Wenger’s fault because he has no dept on the bench. Well who bought those players? It is not Wenger’s fault that the players are not motivated and lack passion. Who’s job is it to to motivate and instill passion? Yet he goes on record saying “i do my best”. Just look at the mans body language during games. Does he look like someone who is doing his best. Where has his passion gone? Where is his confidence? What happened to his footballing brain? He was good until he turned politician for the Illuminati that is Kroenke, Hillwood, Gazidis. He’s like a man that sold his soul and doesn’t no how to get out. Remember 1st of December this Saturday before the Swansea game. Where has our Arsenal gone? Fans will be gathering outside Emirates stadium to demand some Answers?