Bacary Sagna could almost act as a microcosm of Arsenal’s season. Like Arsenal, so much more was expected from him. And Arsenal, like Bacary Sagna, have always been thought of as consistent (regular top four finishes and progression through the Champions League group stages) but can’t seem to put a string of performances together.
And Bacary, like Arsenal, has largely disappointed this season. Sure, there has been the occassional impressive performance (his centre-back performance against Sunderland, with Arsenal down to ten men stands out) but there’s very little for Sagna to write home about this season.
It’s unclear whether his passionless performances are a result of suffering two leg breaks in fairly close succession, or if his heart just isn’t in it anymore. Naturally, I hope it’s the former, rather than the latter (nothing worse than a pouty, well-paid footballer), but either way, it bodes poorly for his career.
Carl Jenkinson’s rise to prominence will heap further pressure on Bacary Sagna. After Jenkinson’s heroic efforts against Bayern Munich (not just ‘efforts’, he was extremely effective too) is Bacary still up for the challenge?
Mr. Consistency has lost his way and as a result, his Arsenal future has been called into question. My personal feeling is that he’s a player who could use a change of scenery and that Arsenal could use another new addition in this area.
All of which preamble, brings me to this article from CalcioMercato (via CaughtOffiside), that claims that Arsenal are after PSG’s top full-back, Gregory van der Wiel.
Van der Wiel is an exciting player, who would fit in nicely to the Arsenal set-up as a replacement for Sagna. He gets up and down the flanks quickly and can tackle as well as he can cross. He’s a player that belongs at a proper club, not a rich man’s plaything, in a boring, uncompetitive League (that’s somewhat reductive, I know).
Unfortunately for the Gunners, PSG have no real reason to sell. As a club, they have more money than sense. As Van der Wiel is in the middle of his contract, it’s going to be difficult to negotiate a decent deal for him. The player himself is also picking up a hefty, un-Arsenal like salary.
All of which adds up to make any potential deal extremely unlikely. But not any less exciting. He’s the kind of player who Arsenal should be chasing. If Arsenal do make genuine inquiries, I certainly wont be turning my nose up.
What’s your take? Can Arsenal really afford to chase Gregory van der Wiel?
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