A deal that seemed almost certain to go through was the transfer of the affable Harry Kewell from Leeds. He seemed the perfect fit for us at the time, quick, technically gifted and could play as an attacking midfielder or striker. He had one year left on his contract and had been making sexy eyes at Arsene and the club for a number of months. I was bitterly disappointed when he signed for Liverpool; news that Liverpool paid a fee of £5 million with £2 million going to Kewell himself demonstrated that Arsenal didn’t feel the amount touted was acceptable. In addition he was on a reported 5 year deal at £60,000 a week which would have been near the top end of our budget. In hindsight, it looks like we dodged a bullet. Kewell never emulated the form or class he portrayed at Leeds
Football is a strange beast; it feels like only last week that the ominous sense of disappointment was hanging over our transfer window business and it wasn’t until a last minute signing of a certain German wizard that changed our premonition of disaster to one of hope and relief. Now with the transfer window fast approaching we will have to go through the whole experience again, thankfully on a shorter time frame.
I could go through a list of potential targets and players that have been muted in the press but it all feels too speculative to really give any credence to. Rather I’d like to look at the ‘what if’s’ of previous transfer windows. The hawk-eyed among you may notice that this is also speculative but with not much Arsenal news out today and with last night’s performance being slightly disappointing, maybe we could use a bit of triviality.
Over the years there are undoubtedly transfers that we missed out on for one reason or another – much of it stemmed from a lack of funds or a stringent wage structures whilst others that have turned out to be good fortune or good judgment.
In 1999, it was reported that we were interested in signing Ruud van Nistlerooy, a prolific striker from the Dutch league. It’s believed that a bid had been tabled and van Nistlerooy had been to Highbury to visit the club; a serious knee injury soon put an end to our interest and we later signed a young struggling French winger from Juventus.
I have no doubt that van Nistelrooy would have been a success at Arsenal. He was a deadly striker, one that I always begrudgingly admired; he scored goals by the bucketfuls and exuded that sort of confidence and smugness that you associate with the very best. In hindsight, after the years of joy that Thierry has given us, it’s hard to really argue for van Nistelrooy’s case but he certainly would have been an intriguing player. It’s a shame that him and Thierry never played together but our French talisman’s success at the club helped form the image and team we are today and there is simply no way any Gunner would prefer to see the deadly Dutchman at Arsenal opposed to our club legend. Conclusion: Transfer hit.
Going back to the early 2000’s I remember many stories emanating from the tabloids about bids for John Terry. Prior to the Abromivich era, when Chelsea couldn’t buy a win at Arsenal, a transfer across town may have been feasible. Terry had begun to put in some very solid displays at centre back alongside Desailly and upon the French man’s injury, Terry was promoted to captain and struck up a formidable partnership with William Gallas. At the time we were playing a centre back partnership of Campbell and Keown/Toure and whilst I think Terry would have been superior to the Ivory Coast and aging England international I’m glad a deal for the odious character that the tabloids muted never reached reality. Conclusion: Transfer hit.
A deal that seemed almost certain to go through was the transfer of the affable Harry Kewell from Leeds. He seemed the perfect fit for us at the time, quick, technically gifted and could play as an attacking midfielder or striker. He had one year left on his contract and had been making sexy eyes at Arsene and the club for a number of months. I was bitterly disappointed when he signed for Liverpool; news that Liverpool paid a fee of £5 million with £2 million going to Kewell himself demonstrated that Arsenal didn’t feel the amount touted was acceptable. In addition he was on a reported 5 year deal at £60,000 a week which would have been near the top end of our budget. In hindsight, it looks like we dodged a bullet. Kewell never emulated the form or class he portrayed at Leeds and was ultimately deemed a flop. Conclusion: Transfer hit.
In 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo spent a few days in the summer visiting the London Colney after Arsenal had agreed a £4million fee, Wenger had even gone to the effort of getting his local sports shop to print up an Arsenal kit with his name on the back of it and he would have got away with it if it wasn’t for the pesky Ferguson. A few weeks later, Manchester United played Sporting Lisbon at the opening of their new stadium, with Ronaldo playing a blinder, forcing Ferguson to stump up £11million pound for the player. There is absolutely zero doubt about Ronaldo’s ability and now that he plays at Real I can appreciate how phenomenal he really is. Don’t misconstrue me, he is a repugnant sod at times but he has the ability to single handedly demolish teams. Conclusion: Transfer Miss.
In 2008, Benetiz decided that he didn’t fancy winning the title for Liverpool and decided to get rid of the devilishly handsome Xabi Alonso. Alonso was reportedly on his way to the Emirates when he was told to turn around as the Gareth Barry deal had fallen through. Alonso stayed at Liverpool another year before leaving for Real Madrid like a jilted ex lover. This potential transfer makes me cry like a fat kid who has been told to eat his vegetable before he gets ice cream. We had a very good squad in 2008, Van Persie hit 20 goals, Song was exceptional in defensive midfield and Fabregas was pulling the strings in-between; it would have been magnificent to see Xabi Alonso sitting alongside Song in the centre of the park with a trio of Arshavin, Nasri and Cesc in front of them and van Persie up front. Not only would he have aided Cesc in his development, not that he really needed any help, but it would have really allowed us to push for a trophy and help keep some of our high profile names at the club a bit longer, if not indefinitely. Conclusion: Transfer Miss.
In more recent years, our financial restraints have become more of a burden, we’ve had to manipulate the market to the best of our ability, finding raw talents and developing them but in 2011 we had the chance to sign one of the most exciting and promising playmakers in the world. Juan Mata had been turning out scintillating performances for Valencia during a troubled time; he exuded class and finesse and had all the attributes to be an exceptional Arsenal player. He was all but in an Arsenal kit until Valencia asked for an additional £2million, Wenger refused to be extorted and Juan Mata showed up in London a week later wearing the blue of Chelsea as opposed to the red and white of Arsenal. His signing would have gone a long way to subdue the unrest at losing Cesc, Nasri and Clichy and help us to maintain some form of challenge. Conclusion: Transfer Miss.
There are, of course, countless players we have been linked with, reportedly missed out on or decided not to pursue. Let me know if there are any transfers you would have liked to come to fruition or any you are glad were scrapped.
Til’ next time,
JR
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