Arsenal To Fritter Away £18m On Overrated Duo?

Chris Wright

31st, March 2010

12 Comments

By Chris Wright

Arsenal are being linked with a pair of £9-million-rated youngsters this morning – Catania’s 21-year-old Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto and Real Zaragoza’s 20-year-old play maker Ander Herrera.

Morimoto (who is currently on the cusp of the Japanese national team) is hoping to secure a place in the World Cup squad following some good performances in Serie A this season and The News Of The World seem to think that Arsenal are preparing to make an offer for the forward before the tournament starts in June.

According to Spanish newspaper AS, The Gunners have already lodged a €10 million bid for Herrera but Zaragoza are keen to activate the €24 million release clause in his contract – and AS speculate that the two clubs will probably agree on a fee of around €15 million.

Now, I doubt Arsene Wenger will be willing to part with the best part of £20 million for two unknown quantities and I can’t see either transfer actually materialising, but the respective sources (particularly AS) seem adamant that the deals are imminent.

Morimoto has produced some solid performances in Italy this season, but is still in and out of the relegation-threatened Catania side, and whereas Herrera is undoubtedly gifted, (he must have something about him to have cemented his place in the Zaragoza side at the tender age of 20) is he really worth all that money? In a word, no.

Arsene Wenger is far too shrewd to be taken for a ride by clubs that are overly keen to cash in on their only hotly-tipped prospect – and I can’t help but think that the £20 million in question would be better spent if put toward bringing in a decent striker/goalkeeper.

Posted in Arsenal, La Liga, Serie A, Transfers & Rumours

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12 Comments

  1. TheTruth says:

    “Arsene Wenger is far too shrewd to be taken for a ride by clubs that are overly keen to cash in on their only hotly-tipped prospects”

    Theo Walcot! :)

  2. Chris says:

    @TheTruth: True, but you’ve got to learn from your mistakes!

  3. Steven says:

    The materials u buy will tell what stage your building has reached.If you continue to buy foundation materials we can safely conclude you are at the foundation stage; but if you begin to buy furniture, fittings, electronic gadgets and the like, I can say that you are close to finishing the building.
    So we ask ourselves, what stage is the team Wenger has been building for five years now? Methinks he’s at the finishing stage and as he said earlier, any player that cant add to what the team has right now will not be brought in.

    So the time he bought Theo, he was at the foundation but the purchase of Arshavin(UEFA Cup winner, captain of Russia NT and at 27) and Vermaelen (24, captain of Ajax) tells you he’s close to finishing).After those two, how many teenagers has he bought? Galindo isn’t even ready to start yet;he’s for the future.Wellington is ready and adds a directness and maybe an understudy for Arshavin.

    I believe the team is nearly complete and all they need is another proven goalscorer(Chamakh), a better goalkeeper, a decent CB/DM who is versatile enough to play in both positions. After these 3, which I doubt he’ll even bring in next season, the team will be ready to compete against the very best…and win trophies…I am sure!

  4. Mike says:

    Steven

    If you equate Arsenal to a building your theory holds up. (However, you would still have to then go about repairing oledr parts of the building as they fall apart.)

    If, however, the comparison is with a stud farm, why buy in proven sires later on in their career at hugely expensive prices when you can buy in younger ones for considerably less which can establish themselves as the best in the world for a fraction of the cost and give much longer service?

    Just an alternate theory and I think the answer is actually to ensure a mixture of both and to make analogies with buildings or stud farms is somewhat simplistic and a little spurious.

  5. Barndoor Bendtner says:

    Also remember AW isnt just building one team. He is already laying the foundation for the next team…or an extension if you prefer.

  6. Chris says:

    Never have I seen a metaphor strung out so tenuously!

    Carlos Vela must be some kind of charming rustic outbuilding, as he always seems to be set back from the main property.

  7. sureli says:

    I disagree with you chris Wenger bought a lot of players that many pundits thought were rediculous. Vermaelen last year was supposed to be the worst buy of the season when Wenger bought him. Campbell was too old, and many other things that I do not remember at the moment.
    All in all, He has proven a lot of people wrong over the years and will continue to do so.

  8. Jaguar says:

    They dont stand any chance to come,as they are not Francophonic kids from Africa.

  9. Dan says:

    @Chris: I often read and rarely post but your comment cracked me up. That is the funniest comment I’ve ever read on this website.

    P.S. This is not your mum.

  10. Chris says:

    @Sureli: I think you misunderstood me. I didn’t mean the players themselves aren’t good enough or don’t have the necessary potential (to be honest I don’t know much about either of them) – I just think that £18 million is far too much money to justify bringing in two ‘unknown’ players.

    I can’t deny that Wenger has unearthed a few gems – the evidence is there for all to see – but he rarely spends £9m on a player with nothing BUT a handful of decent games under their belt.

    @Dan: Cheers man, I do try!

  11. Tony Tango says:

    Chris, that was hilarious,made me choke on my cornflakes! How about Sol Campbell being a listed building?

  12. chris2 says:

    I’ve never even visited this site before but (probably because your headlines show the articfles are almost always going to be refycled from somewhere else) but this is just web journlism at its most flagrant (though sadly not its most original, neves mind)First you dg out two unrelated probably made up stories, then you say the players inolved who probably aren’t coming shouldn’t come cos they aren’t worth it. Then in the comments you say actullyI don’t know that much about them (I take this to mean that you haven’t bothered viewing any youtube clips).
    So what have you got then?
    Incidentally, if anyone cares what I think (and why would they, quite right?) the building analogy works for me, the stud farm doesn’t and Jaguar’s wrong if he thinks French = French-African = Belgian African
    And even if he was it still wouldn’t explain why Wenger’s bought Belgian, Russian, Brazilian, Mexican, English, Portuguese, Spanish and in the past Japanese, Polish, Dutch, Swiss, Argentinian, Swedish etc…..

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