By this point in the season, I’m sure the great majority of Arsenal fans are just holding out for the January transfer window to swing by.
After all, the Gunners have enjoyed their fair share of turmoil this season. After Arsene Wenger decided to sell Robin Van Persie last summer, they were always likely to struggle.
And indeed, during the latest batch of midweek games, RVP inspired his new team, Manchester United to a 1-0 victory over West Ham, whilst the Gunners struggled to secure a 1-1 draw with Everton. The fortunes of the club and player are all too easy to compare and contrast and it doesn’t make for happy viewing.
Arsene Wenger clearly didn’t do the job properly when he attempted to replace RVP with Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski last summer. After all, the Frenchman has been average at best and the German can’t seem to see out a single game.
That’s why the January transfer window now has an almost magical level of appeal to Arsenal fans. It could be the difference between a fourth place finish and mid-table mediocrity.
So it’s somewhat pleasing to see the Gunners linked once more to Borussia Dortmund’s ace young midfielder, Mario Gotze. Arsene Wenger is believed to have lodged a £32m bid for the 20-year-old midfielder back in the summer of 2011, only to have it turned down.
According to talkSPORT, Gotze’s current contract has a £30m release clause written into it. It’s also suggested that Arsenal could be tempted to launch a bid for the youngster once more at this lower price.
Whilst that’s a lot of money, Arsenal would get one heck of a player in return. Gotze is a uniquely talented young player. He’s got the Cesc Fabregas-like ability to create space for himself, immaculate technical ability and the vision and passing range to ping the ball all over the pitch. He’s up there with Jack Wilshere when it comes to the best young players in the game.
When you compare him to Arsenal fringe players like Aaron Ramsey (who gets way too many games with the Gunners) and Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby (who don’t get enough due to injury) it’s like comparing chalk and cheese. Gotze has an effortless sense of class and would fit into Arsene’s attacking philosophy with ease. He has all the qualities he needs to define the next generation of Arsenal players (consisting of the likes of Wilshere, Chamberlain, Gibbs, Jenkinson, Szczesny, etc). With that in mind, I can only hope that Wenger does the unlikely and breaks the bank.
What’s your take? Could Arsene Wenger smash his transfer record and bring Gotze to the Premier League?
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dream on
I do not share your optimism! Unless and until you play this lad in the Premiership you cannot know his effectiveness. Yes! He has quality but Arsenal needs a natural goal scorer, better put a lethal goal scorer.
Playing a system is one think, but you must not squash the individual player to use his head on the ball.