Are Gooners Disappointed To Have Missed Out On Higuain?

Are Gooners Disappointed To Have Missed Out On Higuain?

Just 24 hours on from Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal’s chief executive, declaring Leicester City’s transfer model “the vanguard” and the one those in the know see as the future for Premier League clubs, Juventus tap Napoli on the shoulder about meeting Gonzalo Higuain’s €94 million buyout clause. A gesture that is sure to see Juve give Paul Pogba the green light to make a world record £100 million-plus move to Manchester United.

In the meantime, Gazidis was there on US television, happy to boast about the free cash swimming around Arsenal’s account, all the while lecturing Gooners about what it takes to build winning teams. It’s quite something, because in the eight years he’s been with the club, Arsenal haven’t come close to winning the league.


Over the same period, those nutters from Turin have won five league titles and reached the final of the Champions League. And as for United, the geezer overseeing the Pogba deal knows a thing or two about winning trophies. But, of course, don’t believe your lying eyes, Gooners. They’re wrong. The Gazidis and Arsenal (or is that Leicester?) way of building teams is the future…

Arsenal have been active. Granit Xhaka should make a difference. It’d be wrong to suggest otherwise. But that’s it. And while Arsene Wenger insists the “handbrake” will soon be loosened, it’s difficult to buy what he’s selling after Gazidis’ claims.

The difference between Juve and Arsenal isn’t the league they compete in. Or it’s demands. It’s about the people inside the club.

Juve is a proper, proper football club. Run by good football men. There’s no massive TV deal for the Bianconeri to lean on. Their jaw-dropping new stadium was opened just five years ago. Arsenal’s Emirates? It’s now a decade old. But you never hear Juve directors hiding behind the excuse of having to sacrifice team building to pay off the ground. In contrast, it became a mantra for Gazidis and Wenger.

For Higuain, a deal was there to be made. A deal to lift the quality of an already excellent Juve team. To turn them into genuine Champions League contenders. Higuain will be 29 this year. There’s no hope of Juve of making this money back. But it’s not about buying and selling assets for this club. For the board. The front office. And the coach. It’s about winning things. Making history. Arsenal can slap themselves on the back for all the liquid cash they have, but it’s not going to win them anything.

How would Wenger and Arsenal have treated Patrice Evra? At 35, he’s just been handed a new, two-year contract at Juve. They’ve never lost faith in his value. A key member of a winning team. Who’s to say, with Evra now secure for the next two years, his game won’t flourish, despite the opinion of Wenger and his laptop wizards regarding players of his age?

And what’s more, all that cash Gazidis and friends are sitting on isn’t as valuable as he claims. If it’s there to strengthen the team, it’s depreciating every day.

Thanks to Juve and Manchester United, the £50 million needed to buy a top shelf player has now jumped to £60-65 million. The price for talent is rising not just from transfer window to transfer window, but now every month. Congratulating yourself for having £100 million-plus in the bank is the definition of football arrogance. While Arsenal sit on their hands, frightened to bust open the biscuit tin, not only are rivals taking talent off the market, but also driving up the price for what’s left.

And it doesn’t end with Higuain. Remember those contract talks for Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez? Y’know, the deals they were supposed to get after Christmas. Then it was pushed back to the end of the season. Then it was after the Euros. And now…?

Well, preseason is well underway and both players are now inside the final two years of their existing agreements. Those demands made before Christmas will have been altered. Hearing what Manchester City and United are throwing at transfer targets, you can’t blame Ozil and Alexis for rethinking their terms. It was the players who were pushing the club for clarity before Christmas. That it’s now over six months since that initial enquiry, must leave both men wondering just what the board are thinking.

And the same should be leveled by fans. It’s one thing to ask what’s the point of having all this free cash if you’re not going to use it. But given the way the transfer market is now booming, it can be argued Stan Kroenke, Gazidis and rest of ’em are actually working against the club’s interests by not investing in the squad.

It likely wouldn’t happen at a football club, like Juventus.

Contributed by Chris Beattie of TribalFootball.com