OPINION
It is not often that a club get the opportunity to sign a world-class player after being offered their services outright, but that is seemingly what has happened to Arsenal this week.
As reported by Spanish outlet Don Balon, Barcelona are offering midfielder Arturo Vidal around, with the La Liga giants keen to get rid of the combative Chile international.
It is said that Vidal has been put on the market after a series of social media posts in which he criticised the club for a lack of game time since his summer move from Bayern Munich.
Club bosses are said to have been angered by the 31-year-old’s actions, with Arsenal now among three clubs to have been offered his services ahead of the January window.
All three sides – Manchester United and Juventus are the other two – are said to have passed up on the offer, but the Gunners would be absolutely crazy to have done so.
Vidal is a world-class operator in the central midfield area, and has experience at the top level for a who’s who of world football: Juventus, Bayern Munich and now Barcelona.
He is yet to play in the Premier League, and if Arsenal were to bring him in they would be one step closer to becoming title challengers once again.
The Gunners are currently relying on players such as Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park, and despite the Switzerland international’s improvements recently, he is not of the same calibre as Vidal.
Barcelona spent around £18million on the enforcer in the summer, and so they would surely just be looking to recoup that fee when offloading him.
The unique chance to take up such an offer does not come around very often, and Arsenal must now take it up if it is truly on the table.