Call me a selfish Monger, but I miss the days of ridiculous Arsenal transfer rumours. Don’t get me wrong, the club are in desperate need of a shake up, and it seems that this January is finally when that begins, but what truly makes a transfer window fun is watching how rumours turn increasingly from the likely to the weakly contrived as the period stretches on into its latter stages. Frankly, the summer is the best time for that sort of thing, as unfortunate journalists and bloggers scrape the fringes of football media and credibility to bring a fresh story into proceedings. It is during these times that some true journalistic “gold” gets dropped on our unspuspecting heads, whether it is a lightly revised story insisting that Arsenal are STILL desperate to sign Karim Benzema (as they might actually have been 4 years ago), or (and this is my current favourite) that Ivan Rakitic is considering leaving Barcelona after commenting that Philippe Coutinho’s transfer fee was “a bit high”, and Arsenal could be in for his services. Now THAT is some award winning investigative journalism.
This January, there is little time for fanciful rumours around Arsenal with so much urgent business still to be done. Despite reports claiming the deal is all but done between Arsenal and Manchester United to swap Alexis Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, both players remain at their respective clubs for the weekend. Most fans expect that deal to still go through, but Arsenal have already sold 2 contributing squad players this January, with Sanchez sure to follow and perhaps even more behind him. The Gunners will be desperate to come away with more than just Mkhitaryan (who is admittedly a very good player) to make up for the collective loss. There aren’t enough young players after Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alex Iwobi ready to contribute more to the first team in the Premier League, so Arsenal are likely to sign at least one more player besides. All of this, and they are still working to finalise new contracts for Jack Wilshere and Mesut Ozil. With so much to do, it is no wonder the media has started linking every player to Liverpool these days and not the Gunners.
The Quiet Power in Football
The continuing saga of Alexis Sanchez’ move to Manchester United has helped to shed some light on one of the ugliest and most powerful aspects of the modern game: the super agent. Initially (perhaps because it makes for a more humorous meme) many assumed that Henrikh Mkhitaryan would be the reason why the swap between the two clubs wouldn’t happen, as it was speculated that Arsenal would hesitate to match his wages, or that the player would want to take the “step down” the table to Arsenal when he could easily stay in Manchester. However, all indications are that personal terms are a non-issue between the Gunners and the Armenian playmaker, but rather the real sticking point is the size of the financial package to be collected by his agent, Mino Raiola. Raiola, some might recall, already made himself quite a tidy sum just 18 months ago when he convinced his client to choose United when he left Dortmund. Now, it appears that even though this bit of business just landed in Raiola’s lap when the clubs were searching for a make-weight in the Alexis deal, he still believe he deserves a hefty commission.
Raiola is not the only greedy third party in this deal, as Alexis Sanchez’ agent, Fernando Felicevich, is also after a massive sum for his part in the deal. With estimates ranging from £5-15 million, depending on the source, he will clearly be making out quite well on his client’s move. However, unlike Raiola, it appears Felicevich has made all of the right moves for his client, as the figure for his expected wages at United is thought to be up near £500k per week. This is way more than the £300k per week he allegedly turned down from Arsenal, and it represents one of the most lucrative total financial packages (when including the expected £20 million signing on fee Alexis will collect) for a player of all time. Not bad for a diminutive player nearing 30 with a tonne of miles on his legs. Bravo Fernando!
Malcom Confusion
It is amazing how emotional some fans can get about a player they hadn’t even heard of a week prior, but such has been the case this week since the news first broke that Arsenal were interested in signing the young Brazilian winger, Malcom, from Bordeaux. At first, many were confused as to why they would spend so much (a reported £40 million) on such an unknown player, but after a couple days of watching highlight videos, fans were ready to anoint him the next great Gunner. It then came out that the reason why Arsenal were so interested in him is because the new Head of Recruitment, Sven Mislintat, had wanted him for over a year at Dortmund and now with Gunners. It seemed another deal that was sure to go through quickly-until Wenger put the brakes on it.
Confusion has reigned in the latter half of the week, with Bordeaux’s president claiming no approaches had been made for the winger, and that he didn’t sign a new contract in the summer just to be sold in the winter. His comments were undermined by the Bordeaux manager, Jocelyn Gourvennec, who said that Malcom was indeed considering an offer from Arsenal. Fans were made tense by reports that Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is a huge fan and would also want to bring him to the white half of North London, but some further claim that this is just a leak from the Bordeaux side to force Arsenal’s hand. Arsene Wenger said just two days ago that he was unlikely to arrive this January, so now there is a whole lot of noise and a good bit of hope, but at the moment, it doesn’t seem likely that he will arrive unless other, more favoured plans fall through.
No Dummies in Dortmund
If there is one club that has turned the selling of established stars into an art form, it is Borussia Dortmund. Their model ensures that there will always be exciting young talent waiting in the wings once a player is sold, and the money they raise from that sale means that even more talent is sure to follow. In many ways, it is already settled the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is leaving the club. His behaviour, and the club’s response to it, points very clearly to a relationship gone sour, and much like Sanchez did with Arsenal, he is ready to shoot his way out of town.
Club CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and Sporting Director Michael Zorc have been in this situation before though. Even with Zorc allegedly set to travel to London on Saturday to finalise a deal for the striker, die Borussen are giving no quarter in the press. Clearly conscious of Aubameyang’s misbehaviour going public, the club was quick to strike down any notion that the player is practically already in an Arsenal shirt in his head. Arsene Wenger’s rather innocent comments on Aubameyang were quickly called out by Zorc, who claimed it was disrespectful to talk about another team’s player. However, despite their strong public face, Dortmund are very much coming to terms with losing their man, and have even started searching for a replacement (including possibly even Olivier Giroud). With such a shrewd club sitting across the negotiating table, it is far from a done deal, but every day it still seems increasingly likely that Aubameyang will be an Arsenal player.
A Plea For Patience
Many supporters might have imagined early last week, when the reports intensified surrounding the Sanchez swap, Malcom, Aubameyang and other deals, that the club would already have completed a good bit of their business by now. As negotiations with Manchester United and Dortmund have dragged on into this weekend, fans are getting nervous that they have once again gotten their hopes up for nothing. Whether it is the recent poor results, or transfer windows that have produced fewer new faces than expected, fan confidence seems to be at an all time low with Wenger and his staff.
However, it cannot be stressed enough how different this transfer window is. Sven Mislintat has already signed his first young player, Konstantinos Mavropanos, and despite initial reports claiming he would leave immediately on loan, he has impressed the staff enough to warrant staying through the rest of the season. According to former striker Alan Smith, the club are nearing an agreement with Mesut Ozil on a contract extension, and Jack Wilshere is likely to be back as well with just his wages left to negotiate. The club have said that Alexis Sanchez will be replaced, and though nothing has come out of this promise, the club have every intention of keeping it. The club appear to have focused this January on trying to not only replace their star man, but perhaps even reshape the squad in such a way that energises the team to a top 4 finish. The club may have used up most of its fans’ patience over the last few seasons, but they deserve until the end of the month before their work can be accurately judged.
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