According to a report in Metro, Demba Ba has confirmed that he came close to joining Arsenal in the past summer transfer window, when the Senegalese international was seen as a possible target for the Gunners on deadline day.
Arsene Wenger will be delighted to see how his team has reacted to their early slump in form, and how the squad has collectively achieved results this season so far. The Barclays Premier League campaign this season did not begin in the ideal fashion for Arsenal, as they lost to Aston Villa at home, but the turnaround since has been phenomenal. Getting back to back wins against different opposition, the most recent one being against Sunderland away at the Stadium of light, the Gunners have moved to the 2nd place in the league, just one point behind leaders Liverpool. Not only has this form been reflected in the league results, but also in Europe, as Wenger’s side beat Olympique Marseille 1-2 away in France in the UEFA Champions League first round of group stage matches. Despite small injury troubles regarding players like Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil, both players took to the field at the Stade Velodrome, and performed well in front of a packed house.
Chelsea, on the other end have not had the rub of the green in recent times when it comes to results. Performances have generally been at one level for the Blues, who have two of their last three matches in all competitions. The most recent defeat came in front of the Stamford Bridge faithful, when Swiss side FC Basel made a visit, and despite falling a goal down to Oscar’s goal at half time, came back to snatch two goals and three points in the group stage. Russian owner Roman Abramovich will be in deep thought about how things have turned bitter in terms of results. Despite pumping in millions of pounds in new signings like Samuel Eto’o and Willian, the side need a drastic improvement in the final third.
Ba has been at Chelsea for over 6 months after making a move from Newcastle United in the winter window and he came on for the Blues against Basel in their 2-1 Champions League loss but was disappointing and failed to score much like his entire tenure so far in West London where in fairness he has not had too many good opportunities.
Speaking during the week Ba said, “I was ready to go and play [for Arsenal] but it didn’t happen. I’m a good professional and will keep doing the same.”
“I wanted to play and I want to play.”
“It all depends on me and the performance I put in on the pitch. If I play well, I will deserve to play and the manager will put me on the pitch because that’s how he is and if I don’t perform, it will only be my fault.”
“I think the boss said it and I spoke to him before. I won’t tell you what we said on the phone but I told him that if I stay, I will keep fighting for the club. Now the matter is the next years with Chelsea and that’s it.”